The Art of Positive Change

Awareness raising

2012-01-27T13:39:00.000Z

Through a facebook posting I came across this example of a picture saying more than 1000 words. There was a question about who initiated the campaign, so I googled a bit and came across three sites that are interesting for environmental communication. Wildaid aims to end the illegal wildlife trade by reducing demand through public awareness campaigns and providing comprehensive marine protection.Poor Planet raises eco-awareness by bringing news, articles and opinions on famous and not-so-famous environmental issues. Categories are nature, energy, climate change, pollution, destruction, making a difference. Awareness seems high on the agenda - assuming information will lead to behaviour change. Advertizers without borders is an international network of advertising professionals. Their profession leaves little extra time but as their site shows it is enough to donate public service campaigns that impact local, regional or global. Campaigns are about health, human rights, environment and have a clear action component.

Awareness indicators

2011-12-19T12:49:00.008Z

A recent poll for the Natural History Museum (late 2010) comes to very different conclusions than one by the Botanic Gardens Conservation International (early 2011). The latter is very optimistic, the first one much less so. At a closer look the confusion comes from the different things they measure. To develop indicators for biodiversity awareness (target 1 on the CBD Strategic Plan) we need more clarity and consensus about who to survey, what to survey and how to do it in a way that is relevant nationally and globally.
Who are we surveying: most of the biodiversity targets of the strategic plan are less relevant to the general public and more relevant to specific stakeholder groups. For public awareness we may have to limit ourselves in what we measure.
What are we measuring: cognitive knowledge seems less relevant as the word biodiversity often seems too scientific and explanations and narratives are often too abstract to appeal to the general public. It might be better to measure consciousness about the importance of the nature and consciousness about appropriate behavior choices.
How we measure: public opinion polls are one thing, hard facts (membership of conservation organizations, visits to national parks, market share certified products, commitments on social media etc.) are another thing. It seems easy to measure but who decides which organizations, which areas etc.? How also has to do with language and cultural context. In the Netherlands the concept of nature is seen by experts as a better word to use in a survey than biodiversity. In Brazil at the other hand some colleagues argue the opposite.
The matrix above offers a conceptual framework for indicators. It is taken from a recent study by Wageningen University. Although focusing on the Dutch and European situation this study together with the recent DEFRA study might be a good starting point for further discussion.

capturing learning about change

2011-12-05T12:26:00.007Z

During the workshop slowly understanding emerged on how marketing communication can contibute to behaviour change of wildlife consumers. To provide participants with some conceptual frameworks that could help clarify this learning, I prepared a presentation with these three visuals as key elements. Around them I organized the content of the work we achieved. I offered the PP-report is as aftercare to the organizers.

Demand reduction wildlife products

2011-11-24T10:02:00.014Z

To get participating experts already focused on the issue in advance of our workshop we did a survey monkey. We asked them about their ideas what motivates consumers in China and Vietnam to use wildlife products, what are knowledge gaps we have to overcome and what are constraints we would have to deal with to be able to communicate effectively.

Best practices in communicating forests

2011-11-19T18:26:00.006Z

Know your audience – Is your message packaged appropriately? This was one of the lessons learned by foresters. The theme of one of the plenary sessions of the Asia Pacific Forestry Week was communicating forests. The organizers had agreed to let me do an interactive session instead of yet another presentation. The two hundred people in the room turned their chairs around and started animated conversations around: What are good examples of communications that support positive change? What are do’s and don’ts? This is what they came up with.

Lessons learned
*Networking
*Targeting people who will respond to your message
*Simple message
*Don’t let foresters communicate – well, not all the time
*Forest media specialists are in short supply
*Media is a participatory process

Do’s
*Start young
*Have a clear goal and get stakeholders onboard
*Know your audience – Is your message packaged appropriately?
*Tailor your message for your audience and keep it simple
*Be creative
*Be positive where possible
*Offer solutions where possible
*Make technical information practical
*Get your hands dirty - make sure we capture what is happening on the ground and at the community level
*Choose your spokesperson carefully
*Get to know the media (personal contact)

Don’ts
*Don’t push
*Try not to be exclusive
*Keep your enemies list as small as possible
*Don’t just summarize – Focus
*Don’t tamper with the drivers of change?
*Don't threaten

'Stories, Sizzle, Salience & Social Proof'

2011-11-16T07:59:00.001Z

Futerra Co-Founder Ed Gillespie delivers a speech for the 3 Pillars Network Sustainable Behaviour Change conference in Sydney, Australia. November 2011

Justin Hall-Tipping: Freeing energy from the grid (TED)

2011-10-31T10:51:00.004Z

Solutions come through out of the box thinking. What nanotechnology can do for us: freeing energy from the grid. A clear explanation by a passionate entrepreneur and CEO of Nanoholdings of some exciting scientific discoveries and what they can do for us .

Sheena Iyengar: The art of choosing

2011-10-25T08:53:00.005+01:00

How does our audience make choices? What is the story behind the way they practice choice: e.g. is it "happiness is in your choice" or "helping to prevent you making the wrong choice". Is freedom of choice a right of self expression or recipee for poor decisions? A nice learning exercise about framing, cultural differences and the many narratives that drive choices. Read more on brain pickings: 5 essential books and talks about the psychology of choice.

Dan Ariely asks, Are we in control of our decisions?

2011-10-25T07:54:00.004+01:00

How do we take decisions: in a rational or irrational way? After three years this video is still a very actual subject when we think about how we make our financial and environmental decisions...! Pauline Verheij (TRAFFIC) pointed at this talk while preparing for a meeting on consumer behavior.

What is the BRAND?

2011-10-20T10:50:00.005+01:00

We persist in seeing a BRAND as the external image of a company. Instead, we must learn that branding goes straight to the heart (and comes straight from the heart) of an organisation.
sara's media: What is the BRAND?">So What is a BRAND?
A BRAND is something that you care about.
A BRAND is something that you matters.
A BRAND is something that you will stand for.
BRANDING IS ABOUT MEANING, NOT MARKETING.
IT IS ABOUT DEEP COMPANY LOGIC , NOT FANCY NEW LOGO

A Vision of Students Today

2011-10-20T10:46:00.005+01:00

What do we know about the students as an audience? A video shared by Keith Wheeler gives the beginning of an answer.

The power of framing

2011-10-08T13:23:00.013+01:00

This illustration explains it all.

The question is the message!

2011-09-19T11:41:00.008+01:00

Anyone know why people put used tennis balls on the truck/car hitch? I just saw this question posted by the ReUseConnection. They propagate to reduce waste. Regularly they share ideas on reusing things in and around the house. Today they did so by adding this question to a post from a US blogger. With the photo the question becomes the message. It intrigues, it sticks, it is humorous - it must be easy to answer and yet you are not sure. That psychologically transmits the message of reusing things as the cool thing to do.

The Girl Effect

2011-09-13T13:01:00.002+01:00

Awareness raising is not the same as behaviour change. This two minute video has a powerful message that analyzes the issue of gender and poverty eradication. The objective is to have
the audience surf to the girleffect to learn more and join the movement. The message is: the Girl Effect is a solution to poverty. If we do our part, 600 million girls in the developing world will do the rest. This message would be even more powerful if it clearly explains what it means if we do our part - what is it I can do to help bring about positive change. Awareness itself does not lead to change. Action does.

Communicating Climate Change

2011-08-24T11:11:00.011+01:00

In The psychology of Climate Change Communication the researchers of the Center of Research on Environmental Decisions (CRED) formulate - in eight steps - guidance for effective communication:
1. Know your audience
2. Get your audience's attention
3. Translate scientific data into concrete experience
4. Beware of the overuse of emotional appeals
5. Address scientific and climate uncertainties
6. Tap into social identities and affiliations
7. Encourage group participation
8. Make behaviour change easier.
See also:
Sell the Sizzle;
Communicating Science;
Behaviour barriers to mitigate climate change;
Why isn't the brain green?
The problem with global warming is global warming.

Communicating forests

2011-08-23T10:28:00.014+01:00

To communicate forests in a meaningful way one has to tailor the messages, their language and the media to each different audience. In general we need to appeal to positive emotions when addressing the general public and provide them with a clear action perspective. Only when addressing policy makers and the private sector we can use more rational arguments of costs and benefits. However we need to tell each audience always clearly what they can do tomorrow to contribute. This means careful target group research. Surch research always implies further segmentation of the audience. For a campaign towards whe general public we can need to look at different segments, e.g.:

A local villager looks at the forest and may think of fruits, nuts, fodder, meat; he can be more careful to use resources sustainably.
A traveler looks at a forest and may think of the shadow of the trees to rest under; he can contribute by being careful with fire.
A teenager looks at a forest and may think of the excitement of an adventure tour; they can contribute by not disturbing wildlife.
A married couple looks at a forest and may think of their first kiss there; they can contribute by joining a conservation group.
A young kid looks at a forest and may think what an amazing experience; he can contribute by learning more about nature.

The Known Universe by AMNH

2011-08-22T10:00:00.000+01:00

Pleasing the client

2011-08-02T17:14:00.014+01:00

A good project does not necessary please the client. Making a real impact on the ground in the sense that project beneficiaries really benefit directly from the project, is not enough to please a client. Neither is delivering value for money and satisfying all the elements of the ToR. Nor is it enough to please a client that the project becomes the talk of town in their community and beyond. To please a client - especially in international development projects - the consultant has to think beyond the client. And think how to satisfy and please the clients of his client. In the end funding for development cooperation comes from national tax payers, it might be channeled through international organizations and a national ministry.

To please the client it is important to realize their interest and that of their clients. The project management unit may like the project to contribute to the continuity of their office, or at least provide credits for their careers. The Ministry where the management unit is placed may like to see explicit added value or extra support to their policies and priorities. The international organization involved wants the project to deliver proof of the viability of its approaches and wants templates for reusability of the project results in other countries. Finally the donor country wants concrete proof of money well spent that satisfies their taxpayers. So pleasing a client means going far beyond the ToR, while staying within the budget. A matter of project planning!

Leadership equals transparent communication

2011-05-12T11:28:00.001+01:00

Trust is essential in effective leadership. That is exactly what is missing, I notice in my interviews to advice on strengthening capacities of climate risk management. Respondents in and outside government have no trust in their leaders and CEOs. No wonder I pick up signals of lack of motivation, low productivity, absenteism, poor cooperation, increased staff turn over and talent loss.

Trust is essential in getting things done, but even more essential to prepare for climate risks. So how can a government reverse a lack of trust in senior management and the performance fallout that follows, especially when that lack of trust is complicated with the uncertainties brought about by climate change? The answers for me is in increased transparent internal and external communication.

Credibility is crucial for establishing trust. Leaders must demonstrate competence enabling staff to trust that they have sufficient skills to make sound and firm decisions. Credibility also requires consistency. People do not trust leaders who change their mind too often. With regard to my task a successful leader will have to establish a strategic risk management plan and then implement it consistently with only minor modifications.

To earn trust leaders must at the same time show they care for their people and treat them as their human capital. An open door policy helps. Actively listening and proactively responding to the needs and problems of their workforce does wonders. It also implies that leaders must trust their staff and understand everyone has a different learning style and curve and that no one is better than another. By demonstrating these qualities, leaders can inspire others. Strengthening capacities for climate risk management implies also investing leadership styles.

Branding is engaging

2011-05-11T11:13:00.007+01:00

You hate Barcelona, you love the team, you are indifferent to football, you don’t care who wins as long as it is a good game. People look at the same person, product, organization or football team, but they do not see the same thing. Everyone views things from his or her own perspective. And there are a myriad of viewpoints and perceptions. Moreover the emotions things trigger in us, also change from person to person. They vary from attraction to disgust, from love to hate, from ignorance to apathy. To get your message across and brand your team or organization, you have to tap into these emotions in a way that audiences become engaged in a meaningful way. Communicators have to get closer to the audiences, listen and take in what they say and feel. Starting these conversations and being serious about it, is the way to spread the word about your brand.

Pew: Million-Dollar Reef Sharks

2011-05-09T11:20:00.006+01:00

A shark has more value on the reef than in a soup. That is the message of the findings of an Australian research project. The implicit component of this message to governments and private sector is: it pays off to take measures to protect certain animals that are vital for an ecosystem. Protected areas is one of the measures one could take: indeed what would Serengetti be without the lions or Yellowstone without the bears"? The message is strong. However the video could have been more effective when tailored to a specific audience and adding a more specific action component: The why bother might be clear, but not what to do about it. And when addressing the general public - I found it on Youtube - it should have focussed more on the awe for this creature in his environment.

The Power of Words

2011-05-04T17:13:00.008+01:00

"It is a beautiful day, but I can't see it." A better message than: "I am blind, please help". A nice show of the advertizing skills and services of a British marketing agency.

Drapchi - The preview

2011-05-01T11:00:00.003+01:00

A trailer is part of a branding strategy for a movie. It plays into the senses more than it provides information. Images and music generate associations that reinforce our beliefs, attitudes and values. As this is a new brand it's USP focuses on making a dream come true notwithstandig the utmost adverse circumstances. The inherent pay off of all trailers is: make sure you are the first to see this movie or in this case see for yourself how she managed to succeed.

Evaluation survey for a course

2011-04-28T14:37:00.008+01:00

A qualitative survey mostly is the basis to formulate a quantitative survey. Interviews provide you with the right topics and language for the questions you want to ask. As I had no time and the group is not too large, I opted for a web-survey that combined multiple choice and open questions. Each multiple choice question leads to an open question. After testing the apporach with one colleague and one participant, I got feedback on questions that were not clear, missing questions (e.g on organization, changes in the schedule and the role and structure of the workbook) and suggestions for further learning. It also refreshed my memory to check with the expectations participants had expressed at the beginning of the course.

Practicing hearing

2011-04-27T10:55:00.016+01:00

"Do you hear the silver coins rolling through the temple, as Judas throws the money at the High Priests?" My father asked me when he was practicing the violin solo in his study and I was playing at his feet. With Easter this childhood memory came back when I listened to Ton Koopman's interpretation of the St Mathew's Passion. The tempo is much faster than in most interpretations of the second half of last century. Today I hear the coins bouncing even more! I wonder how many people still practice being mindful of what they hear. I also hear the difference of the bows used....

Communicating adaptation approaches

2011-04-26T12:42:00.007+01:00

Effective communication is essential in overcoming barriers, particularly those encountered during processes of adaptation and change. When faced with the many uncertainties posed by climate change impacts, the capacity to access, use and disseminate relevant information becomes crucial for vulnerable communities in order to better cope with and adjust to new climatic conditions -and to their social, economic and political repercussions, writes Angelica Valeria Ospina on her blog. She refers to a paper by Moser and Ekstrom (2010). This paper contains a matrix that helped me understand the ratio for the different adaptation approaches, e.g. a capacity based approach suits better when the challenges and opportunities are here and now and we cannot wait for more substantial systemic changes. I adapted the matrix to include the various approaches.

ABS elevator pitch

2011-04-23T10:11:00.009+01:00

How to explain ABS in plain language? Almost no one really knows about ABS. I tried to picture the pitch of an effective ABS champion: what would (s)he say? “I am …… of the Ministry of Environment. I have been tasked to deal with Access and Benefit Sharing of Genetic Resources (ABS) in our country. This involves for example managing the demand and supply of plant-based ingredients for the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. Our country is an important source of genetic resources for these industries. To share the benefits and regulate access our country needs to formulate a legal regime, based on biodiversity conservation, the ethics of commerce and science and the interests of local communities. Would you be interested to …… Who can I phone to make an appointment? For an appointment the champion could bring the Nagoya protocol and the ABS information kit.

Bangladesh - Interactive Flood Risk Map - Pictures, More From National Geographic Magazine

2011-04-22T22:46:00.002+01:00

Bangladesh - Interactive Flood Risk Map - Pictures, More From National Geographic Magazine. Maps can convey strong messages. So do testimonials in photos and videos. Look at villagers in Bangladesh bring their 'movable' mosque to a higher location. Day to day life examples of adaptation to climate change from article in National Geographic with good photo and video testimonials.

Communicating a workshop

2011-04-19T12:51:00.011+01:00

Before the workshop participants were invited by email. The email contained an electronic version of the workbook to enable them to come to the workshop with their first homework assignment already done. The workshop was advertized in the local media on the first day to satisfy the institutional stakeholders. On the last day participants received a diploma and they uploaded their work, photos and ideas onto a facebook page, where they aim to continue their exchange and work on a joint initiative: social learning finds us through social media!

CEPA case study format

2011-03-29T11:11:00.006+01:00

Think how users of the toolkit will look for case studies and for learning. In my experience they will search CEPA stories on conservation issues they are currently dealing with: e.g. coral reef CEPA stories, water CEPA stouries, tourism, etc. Formulate those categories and ask for stories about them. Ask for stories of say 500 words, that make clear: 1. the context (the place in nature where the conservation issue occurred and the underlying causes); 2. the players (who had to change in attitudes and behavior); 3. the interventions (what kind of messages and communication methods were used – next to other interventions); 4. the turning point (when change really started to take off – this is where peer learning occurs); 5. the impact (how in the end the realized positive change looked like for nature, for the people involved and for the organizations involved).

Stairs vs. Escalator - How CLEVER is this!!!!‏

2011-03-28T19:03:00.003+01:00

Neuro marketing - where brain science and marketing meet. It seems we have no control over many of our decisions. We buy things on impuls: neurologists have found that seconds before we buy something, somewhere in our brain the decision is already taken. Timing of offers also influences our behavior. Fun can change it, as the video illustrates. Read more.

Effective interviews

2011-03-25T17:57:00.006Z

The semi-structured interview to articulate stakeholder views has four parts. In the introduction we tell shortly why we are doing the interview. In the second part we - shortly - aim to get acquainted with the respondent. It provides him or her with an opportunity to position her/himself vis-a-vis our enquiry. It gives us the chance to express our respect for their work, responsibilities and experience. In the third part we collect information. Prepare in advance the (maximum ten) themes you want to ask (open) questions about. Open questions start with: ‘what’, ‘when’, ‘who’, how’. The answers received are followed by us encouraging them to tell more, e.g. by asking: “Can you give an example?”, “Can you explain?”, “What makes you say that?” etc. A theme can be closed by asking: “Do I understand you well that … (summary of answer)? Opninions can be cecked by: “Do I hear you say … (repeat your interpretation)?” We take notes of what they literally say. Afterwards we assemble the key words of their answers in an excell interview worksheet. This way we can compare with the answers of others. We end the interview with thanks, what will happen next, how they will be informed of the results and can comment on our draft report.

Communication basics in 3 steps

2011-03-17T11:27:00.007Z

Improving your communication starts with learning how to position your organization. The first step was a two hour session with the leadership of the organization. We discussed in pairs and plenary the following questions: who are you? why do you exist? what is your dream? who has to change? What is the message? It gave them a new perspective on the role of communication. They then wrote a first positioning statement. In a second one hour session they recognized it was too long and too much jargon for a positioning statement. They felt they needed more information. We are now at step three: diving deeper into positioning and branding. They are answering the usual list of questions (see illustration), adapted to the NGO situation.

The Bill - short film - Germanwatch

2011-03-07T13:49:00.002Z

Humor can help to convey a message. This is German humor on who pays the climate change bill. Mit Essen spielt man nicht (You do not play with food) is an even shorter other German fun video on CC. The video was made to raise awareness for the CC COP in Copenhagen, in 2009, but its message is still valid.

WHERE GOOD IDEAS COME FROM by Steven Johnson

2011-03-04T19:48:00.002Z

Creating spaces for exchange of ideas is a basis for innovation. Connecting our hunches with those of other people and suddenly seeing that a new idea emerges. That is why just presentations during conferences don't really communicate, while working in groups does.

Measuring biodiversity awareness

2011-03-03T14:53:00.006Z

Awareness is important for the broad acceptance and support in society for NBSAPs and other biodiversity conservation and sustainable development interventions. There is a difference between awareness (knowledge of specific biodiversity content areas), attitudes (values towards biodiversity) and behaviour (habits, practices and activities impacting on biodiversity). To measure it adequately, awareness has to be defined: awareness of the word biodiversity, of the scientific meaning of biodiversity, of the importance of species, of ecosystems, of ecosystem services, of ABS, of the current rate of extinction, of biodiversity’s life support role? All of these? Others? It is also important to define the audience (e.g. general public, youth, business, consumers, policy makers). Finally it is important to note that paradigms and perspectives on biodiversity are very different between countries. This may also differ between urbanised and rural countries/regions. The matrix provides a first indication of what is needed to track awareness of biodiversity values. In red are those observation sets that have a high priority, either due to the relative ease with which they can be measured or due to the close links to positive biodiversity outcomes. In yellow are observation sets that have a very low priority, because of difficulties to get the data and or the indirect links to positive biodiversity outcomes.

Some of the needed data exist in a number of countries, but they are not standardised or harmonised. Attitudes and awareness of ecosystem services and the relationship to biodiversity and human well-being are not known at all. In general baseline data is needed for all of this. There is no global baseline yet nor a global repository for the data. The EC has set up a regional baseline, which could be the basis for additional global work. For each observation set a body can be identified and made responsible. This target differs from many other targets in this document in its reliance on social data, so the body tasked with coordination needs to ensure it has the required capacities in this area. To make data globally relevant and comparable across cultural and language differences, careful thought will be needed with advice and input from a wide range of communication experts from CBD member states. The IUCN Commission on Education and Communication is an expert network that could be tapped into for advice.

The data are adequate in a relative sense and for some regions, e.g. trending EC questionnaires. The data are inadequate in an absolute sense, e.g. global attitude to biodiversity. Fine scale, detailed and well designed surveys of awareness of specific issues would be ideal . These have however their price tag and need time for preparation and coordination to be carried at the global scale.

So far our group work in the GEO BON workshop on indicators for the targets of the CBD strategic plan. It now will be peer reviewed.

Climate Photo of the Week

2011-02-24T20:16:00.005Z

Photographer Garry Braasch documents since years climate change and nature. Currently he is in the pacific for World View of Global Warming. The stories his pictures tell have a human touch. They not merely document, they tell us about life and resilience on the atolls. He is also co-author of the book How We Know What We Know About Our Changing Climate . A non-scary, action-oriented, and inspiring look at how scientists do their work, what they are discovering about global warming, and how kids are already learning about this through Citizen Science.

Demand articulation CEPA Training

2011-02-23T11:27:00.006Z

To prepare for a training workshop it is useful to know more about the audience. An electronic quick scan among participants may help. It can bring to light what the main knowledge areas are for the workshop should be. What skills to focus on. And what learning preferences participants have. I always use the last demand articulation quick scan I did and tailor it (cut and paste) to the new assignment. The feedback you get always helps to design the program and chose the tools and methodologies. As a quick scan also frames the tarining in the minds of the participants, it is important to keep in mind the criteria for success of a survey.

A digital view of the world

2011-02-07T15:19:00.007Z

Communicating science can be done without long texts full of facts, figures and footnotes. My colleague Jack Byrne shared this example of Hans Rosling telling the complex story of increasing human health and well being in a very simple but compelling way. For more of his statistics turned into stories see TEDtalks.

Influencing politicians

2011-02-05T10:37:00.014Z

Gasland is a consumer's campaign for a moratorium on new gaz drilling methods. My colleague Keith Wheeler just made me aware of this movie and campaign. Energy producing methods like fracking have a heavy polluting impact on water and air. Existing legislation in the US allows it. The campaign for a moratorium targets consumers. A website offers tools to inform politicians with arguments they care about: health and financial costs. A map shows drill sites and watersheds. Animation illustrates the impacts of fracking and invites you to click for elevator speech basic facts and figures. Postcard size stories show people telling their personal experiences in a few sound bites. Immediate action towards politicians is a button away. Screening the movie in your community is a means to create word of mouth. In short a perfect example of strategic communication.

A message of awe and wonder

2011-02-02T14:26:00.006Z

How to make a tiger roar? My colleague Ana Puyol shared this Traffic video on her facebook page. It is a good example of branding biodiversity by appealing to our awe and wonder for the tiger. It has a simple action perspective that supports awareness raising. Traffic and WWF CHina should put the video on YouTube to get to a global audience.

The Art of Dialogue

2011-01-31T12:43:00.004Z

Conceptual change is an emotional as well as an intellectual process. During the Sharing Power Conference, the Te Hau Mihi Ata team of the university of Waikato gave an interesting presentation on the dialogue between indigenous Maori knowledge and modern science. They analyze the negotiated space needed for this process and I noted their the criteria for facilitation: language, environment, attitudes, relationships, negotiation, tolerance, let people contextualize the issue, influence through integrity, be solutiuon-oriented, have time to process, set rules for engagement, have concept translators. They also stressed that the framing of the issue is key.

Body language

2011-01-28T11:45:00.009Z

“Sit as the horse driver of the mail coach. Don’t lean back in your chair. The way you sit communicates. The mail coach driver communicates you are interested, enthusiastic, you are on top of the issue. If you lean back in your chair, your body communicates the opposite. When one of you is doing the talking, nod from time to time, it shows the whole team is on board. Make eye contact with the client and make notes when he speaks. It 'tells' you listen and take good notice of his or hers ideas.” My colleague Gillian Martin Mehers and I are advising the team that has to present their approach of a project at the inception meeting. Gillian offers the team a link to a very recent learning resource on body language.

Biodiversity begins with a B

2011-01-27T11:30:00.008Z

Communication works when it is simple and has a clear message what you can do. "Biodiversity begins with a B and ends with a Y or You!. To find out more about biodiversity and what you can do to help, go to www.snh.uk.!" So far so good: a message that sticks and is action-oriented. The tone of voice is good, memorable and reliable. There is appealing humour and a good story line. Maybe the Scottish Natural Heritage can in the next version focus less on threats and extinction, but more on awe and wonder, as explained by Futerra in Branding Biodiversity and demonstrated in the video Love not Loss.

Season's Greetings

2010-12-22T13:23:00.012Z

Sending season's greetings is one of the tools to keep relationships alive. At the same time it can also be a way to update and clean the relation management system. About ten percent of my three hundred 'electronic best wishes for 2011' bounced back, as addresses were not anymore correct. I could immediately update my address book. Another twenty percent of immediate response were people thanking me and sending me their best wishes. Around five percent reacted on the photo, mostly asking where it was taken. I took the picture at a small Tibetan monastery that looks after the Pragbodhi cave where the historical Buddha practiced austerities and asceticism before attaining enlightenment under the Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya. It is situated on a mountain range overlooking dry forests and deserts, an hour by car from Bodh Gaya, India. One cave contains a statue of a very skinny Buddha. Another cave a more traditional Buddha statue. We put up prayer flages, lighted candles and incense in the late afternoon.

Bush meat message

2010-12-21T16:30:00.022Z

‘Imagine it alive. In the Amazon Ecuadorians eat ten tons of bush meat each year’. The proposal for the pay off was: ‘Be a responsible tourist’. It does not refer explicitly to extinction, however it is a loss not a love message. We are discussing the campaign of an IUCN/TRAFFIC project in the Yasuni Biosphere Reserve aimed at small road side restaurant clientele in the Amazon region of Ecuador. They are American and European backpackers, oil company employees and middle class citizens of small cities in the region. The back packers are only 1% of the clientele. So forget about them for the moment. Ecuadorians love bush meat. That’s why the small restaurants still supply the demand. But how to communicate behavior change to the demand side? Appealing to rational weighing costs and benefits of behavior change often does not work. Better to appeal to emotions of national pride and love for the Amazon region and the people living there. And add a real action perspective: ‘don’t eat bush meat’ or 'try this time something else than bush meat'. Maybe explore whether 'solidarity' associations would stick: ‘so the tribes who depend on it, won’t go hungry’. As long as communication is not fully alligned with enforcement, we may influence attitudes and maybe the behavior of a small segment of the audience, but no big changes. Therefore it is worthwile to invest in a parallel dialogue with the police, local authorities and restaurant owners how to work together for positive change. In any case pre-test draft messages.

Communication plan to establish a PA

2010-12-15T11:08:00.013Z

The communication strategy is based on getting support through a participatory process. The assignment asks students to write a communication plan to get support to establish a protected area.
Before I read their assignments, I do the assignment myself. I realize the communication objectives are to inform opinion leaders about the idea of a dialogue, get them interested to participate and help create word of mouth based on the outcomes of the dialogue. My plan focuses on internal and external communication.
Internal communication to clarify:
1. What the initiators really want (elevator talk) - message to use externally
2. Degree of flexibility of initiators with regard to the idea of a PA
3. ToR of the stakeholder dialogue process
4. Available time of the other initiators to engage in dialogue
5. Budget for stakeholder dialogue process
6. Procedure for reporting and decision making based on stakeholder dialogue.
External communication to get support of local stakeholders:
1. Identification of stakeholder groups and their opinion leaders
2. Establishing relationships with opinion leaders and get a first idea from them about local situation and previous (communication) interventions; knowledge, attitudes and practices of local stakeholders; motives and obstacles to change.
3. Engagement in a stakeholder dialogue process: identification and invitation of participants; planning and facilitation of the process; prioritization and objectives of communication interventions to wider audiences.
4. Creating supportive word of mouth: implementing communication interventions to wider audiences; monitoring and evaluation; positive feedback to opinion leaders and wider audiences.

Exhibits in information markets

2010-12-13T10:24:00.012Z

Often we participate with an exhibit in an information market because we feel we have to be present. Presence can be an objective. But it is more strategic to formulate specific communication objectives: e.g. expand the relation network with at least 50 people. It means collecting business cards and doing a mailing or other forms of follow-up afterwards. It helps when the stand has one clear message and not too much information. It also helps when you have some trinkets, sweets or fruits that make passers-by slow down to pick it up and provide a reason to start a conversation, surf the product (songs) on the computer or take interest in the hand outs. Have an action proposal, e.g. "come to the concert tonight". These were some of my lessons learned when representing my wife at the Dutch Jazz and World Meeting Information Market ten days ago - along with another hundred suplliers of jazz and world music in Amsterdam, where she did one of the showcases in the evening. I collected 50 cards of international producers and organizers of a festival. And today I received the first response on the follow-up mailing I did last week.

Elevator talk

2010-11-26T12:24:00.005Z

An elevator talk is a one-minute (or roughly 75 words) in advanced rehearsed narrative that one uses to make contact and get an appointment, when meeting people by chance in an elevator, in the corridors during coffee break of a conference or elsewhere. It is not about substance, but to introduce yourself (smile and keep eye-contact) and raise interest in your project and finally get an appointment to come and tell more about it. The example my collegue provides: “I am Sandy of the Sustainable Development Think Tank here in town. We are passionate about contributing to the solution of the waste problems. Results from our recent projects may very much enhance the waste management bill you are working on. I know members of your party are very keen to make this bill a success. Would you personally be interested in making an appointment to hear some of the highlights of our findings and concrete recommendations? Who can I phone?” Important is that your audience leaves the conversation with the feeling: that was a nice person, (s)he has an interesting project that might help my work, I have to remember to tell my secretary to make an appointment as soon as she phones.

Message: what works, what does not?

2010-11-25T16:28:00.006Z

The few sound bites that the audience remembers from your communication. That - I explain to my audience of MSc students - is the message. When you prepare and formulate an effective message, don't concentrate on what you want to say. Formulate what people should remember. Key informative sound bites why they should bother and what they should do. And don't forget that your body language and other actions should support the message, not contradict it. The audience should like and trust the messenger. The rest are just details. Details communicate that you know your stuff. Íf you provide too many details, you often mess up your message. Instead provide a source where people who want to know more can go to. A good way to practice messaging is having students analyze a series of brochures and leaflets to distill their core message.

Resistance against climate science

2010-11-24T09:20:00.011Z

Denial, wishful thinking, framing your opponent's knowledge as junk science and your own knowledge as sound science: nothing new under the sun! In his latest article Clive Hamilton - author of Requiem for a species - looks at the resistance Einstein met when he first published the results of his relativity theory. He analyzes Churchill's strugle against complacency and the popular wishful thinking that nazi-germany was not a threat to world peace. He evens diggs into Camus' La Peste. I am left with the feeling 'what to do?' Just persevere? Or can we do better to make climate science more relevant? More on this issue in the Yale Forum on Climate Change and the Media.

Interview with Frits Hesselink .wmv

2010-11-19T11:29:00.002Z

How to make biodiversity relevant to non-scientists? Talking to Yvonne Otieno during COP 10 in Nagoya.

Biodiversity Barometer -

2010-10-30T11:11:00.008+01:00

On the occasion of the CBD COP 10, the Union for Ethical BioTrade commissioned an extension of its Biodiversity Barometer to Japan and Korea. Through consumer surveys, UEBT tracks consumer awareness and understanding of biodiversity and their purchasing behaviors. The new surveys of Japanese and South Korean consumers also claim to confirm the growing importance that consumers attach to biodiversity across the world. The reports consist of two pages. The website provides no access to the original research or methodology... The survey was sponsored by a Korean cosmetic firm and carried out by a global market research company: its website does not mention any biodiversity barometer... Greenwash or clumsy communication?

Lionfish PSA

2010-10-29T21:21:00.004+01:00

Fun as basis to effectively communicate invasive species. To learn more visit the website. A Randy Olsen film. See also the interview in the NYT.

SOS - Save Our Species - join now!

2010-10-29T17:11:00.009+01:00

Save our species. Not a very effective advertizement for a website. And food for thought from the perspective of branding biodiversity: Love. Not Loss! Food for tought also from the perspective of strategic communication: who is the audience and what KAP change is intended? See also the brochure.

Science, disinformation and ethics

2010-10-26T11:18:00.008+01:00

"Environmental scepticism is an elite-driven reaction to global environmentalism, organised by core actors within the conservative movement." A recent study from the University of Central Florida shows that over 92 per cent of environmentally sceptical publications are linked to conservative think tanks, and 90 per cent of conservative think tanks interested in environmental issues espouse scepticism. This scepticism is a key tactic to undermine the environmental movement’s efforts to legitimise its claims via science. The sceptics are not unbiased analysts of science who expose the myths and scare messages of the environmentalists, whom they label as practitioners of ‘junk science’. They are not - as they claim - marginal voices who battle like ‘Davids’ against the powerful ‘Goliath’ of the environmental scientists. These sceptics are supported by politically powerful think tanks funded by wealthy foundations and corporations. In another recent publication of Penn State University Donald Brown asks himself whether the disinformation of sceptics can be labeled as a new kind of crime against humanity. Given the results of the climate change and biodiversity negotiations one could at least say that the communication tactics of the sceptics to influence decision makers and the public seem to work better than the communication strategy of the environmentalists.

The positioning of communications

2010-10-25T17:56:00.007+01:00

In governments, international organizations or NGOs the function of communications is sometimes directed by the Head of the Information Unit. Sometimes it is directed by the Policy or Management Team. The choice where to position the communications function in an organization depends on the vision one has on the role of communications. On a continuum one can formulate many visions. For reasons of clarity I just describe two extremes on such continuum.
If one sees communications only as an instrument to facilitate and clarify operational information to external audiences (especially mass media) one positions the communications function in an Information Unit. And the press officers in this unit are basically directed by the Unit Head.
If one sees communication as a strategic policy instrument to influence knowledge, attitudes and behavior of specific target groups, generating trust and support and engaging audiences in public participation, then communications is often directed by top management and positioned directly under the highest decision making level. And the various communications experts of the unit (varying from media experts, to facilitators of stakeholder dialogues and social marketers) also are the ‘ears’ for top management: they bring into the policy making process the actual attitudes, gossip, prejudices and motivations of the audiences for whom policies are developed.

Action triggers attitude change

2010-10-24T14:48:00.007+01:00

Often we think that behaviour change is based on a sequence of changes in knowledge and attitude. In reality change is not based on such linear process. I realized that when I was invited in the biodiversity fair in Nagoya to cut my own chop sticks out of bamboo. It was not easy. It was very helpful that a skilled Japanese old lady was demonstrating me the basics. It was also fun to try. I never had thought that practicing sustainable use, would reenforce so positively my attitude towards sustainability.

A new biodiversity message

2010-10-23T16:23:00.001+01:00

Love. Not Loss.

2010-10-21T20:20:00.001+01:00

Communicating science

2010-09-25T20:01:00.005+01:00

"...communication is not just one element in the struggle to make science relevant. It is the central element. Because if you gather scientific knowledge but are unable to convey it to others in a correct and compelling form, you might as well not even have bothered to gather the information.” This quote comes from the latest publication of marine biologist and film maker Randy Olsen: ‘Don’t be such a scientist: talking substance in an age of style’, Island Press 2009. In this book Olsen argues that scientists should pay more attention to how they communicate their work. They should focus not only on substance or content, but much more on the style of communication. As a professor in marine biology, Olsen had gained a reputation on a range of conservation issues. But only as a film maker he learned that information, facts and figures do not speak for themselves. At least when you are not teaching students or talking to your peers. Olsen explains how human psychology basically works. In the matrix I present my personal summary of his explanation. To get people – non-experts – to listen to your research or project findings, you have to first stimulate curiosity in them. You do that not through content but through style: humor, spontaneity, personal stories and messages. Only after you have ‘aroused’ your audience they are open for the content. Or in Olsen’s words: “When it comes to connecting with the entire audience you have four bodily organs that are important: your head, your heart, your gut, and your sex organs. The object is to move the process down out of your head, into your heart with sincerity, into your gut with humor, and , ideally if you’re sexy enough, into your lower organs with sex appeal.“

Behavior is less rational than we may think

2010-09-21T16:30:00.007+01:00

We tend to make ‘hot’ choices – “what I want to have”, over ‘cold’ choices – “who I want to be”. Satisfying immediate needs is an instinct humans share with animals: (fast) food, sex, power, whatever turns you on. Civilization has also brought other values, says psychologist Roos Vonk, but mostly those moral values lose from our instincts. We consume on impulses to satisfy our immediate desires. Even if it means compromising our moral values of fair trade, child labor, CO2 and ecological footprints, health etc. Unconsciously our mind ‘explains away’ the potential objections from our consciousness, so that we still can feel good, whatever choice we make.
Firstly our mind acts like a spin doctor when dealing with cognitive dissonancy: “For a healthy diet I simply need to eat meat”; “meat is just delicious, I can’t imagine a meal without it”; “I already do so much for the environment”; “Biological products are far too expensive”; “I only eat biological meat or buy fair trade products” Etc.
Secondly our mind unconsciously appeals to the paradigm of individualism: “I want to do my thing”, “I have a right to live and consume the way I prefer”, “I am free to choose what makes me happy”; “I happen to like buying new stuff”; “I do what is good for me”; “I follow my gut feelings and instincts” Etc.
Thirdly our mind appeals to dominant social and moral values: “it is not immoral to eat meat, to fly etc.”; “There is no law against…”; “The government acts in the same way”.
In communicating sustainability Roos argues it is best to address the hot choices by appealing to cold the ones: “do you have an inferiority complex that you need to drive a Hummer?”; “If you consume like others, is that compatible with your personal values?”; “Isn’t it the core of individual freedom to pursue the values you belief in?”

How sexy are forests?

2010-09-20T11:35:00.008+01:00

Psychology is at work when we are confronted with words. Words have not only their literal or dictionary meaning, they also have strong associative connotations. A word invokes feelings, images, memories and values. People in the disciplines of journalism or advertizing know how much words matter. Choose the wrong words in your headline or tagline and no one will read your article or buy your product. To illustrate how this works for the word forest, I did a little experiment with forest experts, CEC members and people for whom forest conservation is not of immediate concern. All were asked their first associations with the word ‘forest’. In the matrix I summarize the associations and clustered them into the domains of head, heart, guts and loins.
The associations of most forest experts were in the domain of the brain. Some really tried to be ‘without a mistake’ in their answer, e.g. “Forest is a land which is dominantly covered by trees of different dimensions, in association with grasses, herbaceous plant, lianas and other flora such as epiphytes.” Only a few forest experts had some associations in the domain of the heart, one in the domain of the guts. The answers of CEC members were spread over the domains of brain, heart and guts. The great majority of the associations of the non experts were only in the lower three domains. This is where scientists need professional communicators when addressing non-experts: with style, storytelling, messaging, and tone of voice that appeals to the audience they want to reach. An article on this experiment will be published in Arbor Vitae.

CEPA Toolklit Users Survey

2010-09-20T10:57:00.009+01:00

As contribution to the International Year of Biodiversity, HECT consultancy did a survey among users of the CEPA toolkit to explore how to improve biodiversity communication. Respondents are highly satisfied with the toolkit. They like the perspective of change and the orientation on biodiversity results. Its comprehensiveness makes that different professions find tools in it, which they can immediately use. Many respondents have recommended the toolkit in their professional networks, as a credible and authorative source of information. They also indicate that SCBD and IUCN should invest more in PR and distributionn of the toolkit to bring it to the attention of national policymakers and local conservation initiatives.
At the other hand the comprehensiveness also makes it difficult to easily find what one looks for, both in the hard copy and in the electronic version. Especially the latter is not very user-friendly. There is a need for even more information tailored to local and cultural contexts, exchange of experiences and case studies. Respondents also express a demand for more training workshops and distance education to fully take advantage of all the information and tools. The survey will be published in the coming weeks by IUCN and SCBD.

Oil becomes Plastic becomes Oil

2010-09-02T09:36:00.004+01:00

A story of positive change starts with the inventor remembering how in his youth he used to play in nature. Tina Trampus, a colleague, made me aware of this video. Since it first appeared on YouTube it already had over 150.000 views. It caused controversy about assumed toxic residues and the disincentive to reduce the use of plastic. The UNU page now provides arguments that it is safe. The company still mainly produces larger, industrial-use machines: info@blest.co.jp.

Living Outside The Box Sustainable Lifestyles

2010-08-15T14:19:00.006+01:00

Most definitions of sustainable lifestyles talk about three key areas: minimal environmental impact, not undermining the carrying capacity of resources and helping people interact with the communities and places in which they live.  The UNEP Taskforce on Sustainable Lifestyles in its recent report points out that 'people will only change their lifestyles in exchange for a better one'. This means sustainable lifestyles should be attractive and desirable. Its more than savings on energy bills, it is also about happiness, social relations and quality time. Read more in the Ecologist. The report is produced by Futerra.

Next generation footprint calculator

2010-08-12T09:11:00.010+01:00

The fieldprint calculator – developed by the Keystone Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture - helps farmers assess their operational decisions. It is an easy way to find out how current land use, energy use, water use, greenhouse gas emissions, and soil loss compare with state and national averages. Most footprint calculators are aimed at consumers to give feedback on lifestyle changes. A few aim at companies providing benchmarks to reduce carbon emissions. The field print calculator belongs to a new generation footprint calculators that are tailored at specific professions to help make better informed decisions on the job. In Fastcompany Magazine CEC member Joe Russo explains the knowledge management model behind these new generation tools: “GPS-enabled yield monitors allow us to get site-specific field information for 1- to 5-meter areas. But when it comes to weather forecasting, the most specific we can get is about 1 square kilometer, where there can be a lot of variations in canopy heat and moisture. So there's a gap .that's what we're trying to bridge by combining modeling with physical observation. We use precipitation, effective precipitation -- how much water breaks through the canopy and reaches the soil -- and evaporation levels of the plant and soil to figure out how much water is actually present. Water is precious. Knowing exactly when to distribute it in an exact amount means huge savings.”

Briefing authors for a special of a magazine

2010-08-10T11:27:00.003+01:00

Briefings are often done on line. Sending just an email with the request to write an article is not enough. These are some points of attention when briefing a new group of authors for a special of a magazine. The email itself should be short and personal. The briefing should be in an attachment. See also: Successfactors for a good briefing and Briefings for communicatuion support. Click on the image to read the points.

What to tell and how to tell it?

2010-08-08T18:05:00.015+01:00

For a presentation – focus not only on content but as much on your style. In my last posting I provided some suggestions on how to organize the content. From my musical education I also learned that playing all the notes accurately does not turn your performance into music. Similarly a good presentation in terms of the sonata form, still can be boring. With the result that people afterwards do not remember much of it. So apart from the content we have to think what makes people really pay attention. These are a few points that have helped me:
1. Ask the audience one or two questions about the themes of your sonataform that they can answer by show of hands, then do your talk referring to the answers of the audience.
2. Tell the subject of your talk and ask the three things they would like to know most from you: in your answers you improvise around the themes of your prepared sonataform and be prepared to go beyond.
3. When interacting, give positive feedback to the public, e.g. I heard you have much experience in…; your show of hands proves your positive attitude towards…; that is a very good question that makes me think of the following story…. Etc.
4. During a concert the conductor also does not show the score, so leave the powerpoint in your notebook (if you have one send it in advance or afterwards with the invitation to mail you questions). A talk without powerpoint can be more powerful than one with all the distractions of images and words.
5. Be relaxed and make your mind completely empty before the talk (don’t concentrate on the themes of the sonataform – you know them already by heart); be open to anything that happens when you get on stage, smile, make eye contact, use humor, show emotion and use silences. Be like the audience: a normal human being of flesh an blood. Show what makes you tick. The more they like you, the more they will like what you tell them.

For a presentation - use the Sonata form

2010-08-07T15:45:00.011+01:00

The sonata form comprises an exhibition, a development and a recapitulation. It is the most common form of the first movement of a classical symphony, solo concert or string quartet. In the exposition the main themes or theme groups are presented, in the development the themes are elaborated, questioned and argumented. All tonal, harmonious and rythmic developments are finally resolved in the recapitulation of the main themes from the exhibition. Similarly in a presentation one should start with the two or three key messages one wants to convey to the audience. Next one should illustrate each of these messages with examples and stories preferably from one’s own experiences. One should conclude with repeating the main messages.
A colleague of mine has to give a 12-minute presentation on communicating biodiversity to consumers. The themes she choose were: ‘perception is the only reality’, ‘people change because they want to’,’ let others tell it’. We talked about developing the first theme with stories about generating attention and interest of consumer groups by changing the focus on biodiversity messages and using jargon to focusing on people’s own situation, experiences and values and using plain language. The second is to be developed by stories how change in behaviour of large groups is more successfully triggered by appealing to people’s own motives and drivers. And not by rules, penalties and prohibitions. For the third theme we thought of stories where she had used intermediaries that are most credible to consumer groups and who conveyed messages from their context that (also) benefit biodiversity. For the laggards behind finally we need strict enforcement and if that does not work we should reach out to the responsible agencies.

The answer isn’t more science; it’s better PR

2010-07-22T11:01:00.008+01:00

Scientists need to make people answer the questions, What’s in it for me? How does it affect my daily life? What can I do that will make a difference? Answering these questions is what’s going to start a conversation. John Francis has drawn the attention of the CEC network to an article by Erin Biba on Wired, titled ‘Why Science Needs to Step Up Its PR Game’. Scientists risk their lives and fortunes to do something that is, in many cases, an act of faith. They’re heroes. It’s a beautiful thing. Imagine the impact if a scientist said, ‘I’ve been working in climate science for 20 years, and it breaks my heart that people don’t believe in what I do.’ The reality is that scientists assume that facts will speak for themselves. However in the real world cerebral mindedness does not work, you need to draw the attention of other human organs. Or like Randy Olson, scientist and filmmaker, says in his new book Don’t be such a scientist: “in a media dominated era you should grab people’s attention by plain language stories, caring about how you are perceived and using artists to arouse interest.”

Managing professional updating projects

2010-07-21T11:20:00.008+01:00

The graphic summarizes the phases of a professional updating project to help clients think beyond funneling expert knowledge into power points. Formulation and execution of a professional updating project is often a learning experience for both consultant and client. The client makes steps from thinking in terms of instruction to thinking in terms of creating a learning environment; from seeing the consultant as a follower of instructions to trusting his/her didactic expertise to guide the development process for which the client is one of the suppliers of information and content. The consultant makes steps in understanding context, audiences, expectations and a possible next phase of development in the learning of the client. Most difficult for both is to realize that often most of the available time is needed for the phases that prepare for the production. I sometimes wonder whether these reflections not only apply to learning projects, but to all communication projects.

The power of love messages

2010-07-14T10:50:00.010+01:00

People will protect nature because they want to, not because they have to. This is one of the pay offs of Futerra's arguments to rebrand biodiversity. They base this on common sense. Everyone loves nature. Love is a powerful driver. You can't get more powerful than wonder, awe and joy. Reconnecting with such type of childhood experiences in nature generates empathy and willingness in our mind that motivates to act for nature. I had to think of the biodiversity brand when visiting this morning the National Gallery here in Ljubljana and seeing the painting - 'Summer' - by Ivana Kobilca. The light, shadows and colours on the real painting are much nicer than on this reproduction. In the same way our own memories of real experiences in nature are much stronger than any rational appeal to conserve biodiversity.

It is time to kill off the extinction message

2010-07-13T15:07:00.005+01:00

It is time for a new biodiversity message. That is the conclusion of Futerra after working on developing the logo and communication strategy for the International Year of Biodiversity, an information toolkit on Access and Benefit Sharing and many other conservation projects. Futerra has been building up thought leadership on sustainability communications and shares its latest findings in Branding Biodiversity. A concise manual for campaigners, policy makers and media who are open to radically changing our biodiversity message, in order to radically increase action. Branding Biodiversity challenges communicators to stop talking about extinction and to distil a complex scientific concept into a set of values and promises that appeal to the masses. They reveal the formula of ‘Love’ + ‘Action’ that will inspire the public to act to conserve biodiversity.

Be simple and personal

2010-07-13T14:50:00.017+01:00

What is the retention of a lecture? The framework of my eight hour lecture consisted of me asking questions, telling stories from my work to answer questions, assign group work, do games, make drawings on a flipover and jointly draw conclusions. I avoided any use of PP and handouts on paper. I wanted to walk the talk of 'effective communication is being simple and personal'. The students seemed to like it. What they learned I will know when they send in their assignment. But at the end of the day I already was quite satisfied when the over 20 Klagenfurt University students of the International MSc Course in protected area management listed their main principles for effective communication and public participation in the early stages of planning a protected area:
Be humble.
Respect views of others.
The stakeholder 'is always right'.
Improve your empathy.
Invest in building mutual trust.
Avoid assumptions.
Invest in assessing prior knowledge.
Communication is a two way process.
Identify leaders.
Create positive word of mouth.
Participatory planning and management equals dealing with change.
Change is painful, focus communication on overcoming resistance.
Learn how to deal with uncertainties.
People are more concerned about 5 Euros loss than about 5 Euros gain.
Sometimes money can be a disincentive.

Seeing is believing

2010-07-09T14:35:00.012+01:00

Communicating biodiversity is communicating how people behave in a positive way towards nature and natural resources. David Aimé and David Fabrega, two young professionals are about to start a world tour to explore real life examples of such positive behavior. As their contribution to the International Year of Biodiversity, they will visit over 12 countries and meet with people in communities, organizations and governments. They will document the experiences and stories on video on their site. What I like is the 'people' aspect that reminds me of the West-Eastern Divan, the without borders orchestra initiative of Daniel Barenboim and Edward Said. By playing music together this communication platform offers young Palestinian, Jordanian, Syrian, Egyptian, Spanish and Israeli musicians an opportunity to make music together, learn first hand about each other's life, and perform in countries that otherwise would be completely closed to them. Communication that contributes to peace. Similarly the two Davids want to contribute to biodiversity and sustainable development.

Deep listening to a brochure

2010-07-01T18:48:00.019+01:00

People make judgments in a split second, not based on rational weighing of costs and benefits, but through ‘irrational’ associations with deeply ingrained values, feelings, and experiences. That’s how we scan headlines, pick up magazines and surf the internet. It is also how we browse a brochure and put it aside or grab the phone. I just came across SOS Save our Species, a brochure from a IUCN-GEF-Worldbank initiative to raise funds from the private sector for species conservation. Going through the brochure I started to like the initiative and its potential. At the same time I came up with 5 things I would had done differently:
1. Have the animals on each page look from left to right: avoid ‘looking backward’, forward looking associates with the future. That is the language of the private sector.
2. Start with a vision how species underpins our life, our business. Don’t start with the threats: guilt shuts us down and makes us put the brochure aside.
3. Use pictures of animals we can emotionally relate to; a tiger pub is better than a rhino; we can’t relate to plants but we can relate to a farmer in her field, a fisherman on his boat or a doctor in her laboratory.
4. Use common sense, make it personal: “We all love nature. We all want to conduct business in a responsible way. Here we offer a range of concrete opportunities to combine the two. You can associate yourself, your employees and clients with a conservation project of your choice”. Don't use conservation jargon.
5. Support our species, support our own species, might be better that the current tagline. Actually I would avoid all SOS connotations. SOS associates with disasters. Nobody wants to contribute to a lost case. That's what the private sector calls: "throwing good money to bad money."

Briefings for communication support

2010-06-26T13:21:00.011+01:00

Large organizations tend to ask for external communication support to help them getting their messages out through websites, newsletters, press releases, posters, leaflets and brochures. In their briefings they mostly formulate their objectives as ‘to increase awareness, understanding, and support among stakeholders and the (interested) public, as the means for their further engagement’. Such ‘paper’ communication definitely contributes to access to information on policies and practices. It is questionable however whether it will create awareness and support of people in stakeholder groups and among the general public.
How to upgrade such ‘paper’ communication to ‘people’ communication? The first step is made when – in the briefing – you:
1. define the success of the policy or organization and the evolving needs of its audiences and position the added value of the transactions the policy or organization has to offer
2. segment the audience (identify those target groups that are key to the success of the policy or organization) and
3. quantify the objectives (SMART) per target group (often additional target group research is needed).
In the briefing you can then ask the communication support
1. to formulate short messages in the ‘language’ and ‘mind frame’ of the target group, that appeal to them, contain a promise and a proof that it is possible and make concrete what the target group can do contribute;
2. to make creative use of those media that are credible and effective sources of information for the audience, if possible by involving people and media from the target group itself;
3. to map out benchmarks to monitor the process, provide positive feedback and adapt the approach where necessary.
Read more about briefings.

Web survey

2010-06-25T11:35:00.015+01:00

A web survey is a good way to explore demand and how to best satisfy it. The tools are there and make it very easy. They are user friendly and are mostly free, but better use for a short period the upgraded versions. I learned the following five 'rules of the game'.
The respondents. Define whose opinion you need. If it is a small group of 10 to 20 people you already know, you may reconsider a web-survey and do telephonic interviews. If it is a large group of a few hundred or few thousand people it is important to know how much the issue is of concern to them. The closer they are to the issue the higher the response you may expect. 2% is a very high response for a large and ‘distant’ group. 20% response is a high for a smaller and 'closer' group. Make sure you have updated mailing lists.
The objectives. Define the two or three things you really want to get out of your questions. To do so it is best to first conduct telephonic interviews. This qualitative research will help you formulate what is really relevant to ask. 5-10 semi-structured interviews will do. Don’t ask more than 6-8 questions. Analyze and discuss the results with a few colleagues. Then design the web survey. If you don’t have time for interviews, at least discuss objectives and framework of the survey with colleagues.
The three parts of the survey. Start the survey with a concise formulation of the background and objectives. Explain what is in it for the participants, e.g. "it will help us to service you better"; "you will be credited in the publication as a contributor". As to the questions, keep their number as low as possible. Make sure you ask about the profile of respondents. Ask their email address to be able to keep in touch. In a choice matrix keep the number of choices around 5. More choices make reporting in a diagram difficult to read. If you need more choices use a new question. Ask to explain their answer when you use a closed question. The last question should be about what else respondents would like to say about the issue and what advice they have for you. Always end the survey with a thank you and indicate when and where respondents can see the results of the survey.
The test. Before you send out the survey always test its ‘usability’ among a few colleagues. Ask them to do the survey. This alone may bring to light some small mistakes. Also ask them about whether or not to use ‘compulsory’ questions. Are the questions clear? Do the open questions work or irritate? What other advice they have?
The message. The more personal the email with the request to participate, the more response. Use a sender they know, appreciate and has credibility. Keep the text in the mail short, but personal. If you use more mailing lists, apologize for possible cross-posting. Keep the time frame for the survey short (maximum three weeks). Send a reminder halfway the period for response.

It Starts with One

2010-06-21T10:12:00.003+01:00

10 years Earth Charter promo

Communication: tools or strategy?

2010-06-12T11:21:00.003+01:00

Strategy is about how to most effectively reach your goal. Most communicators concentrate on tools: brochures, videos, photo exhibitions. The question is will that help us reach our goals? My students ask what then is a strategic communication? I answer it is a way of life. And I paraphrase Musashi. A strategy for effective communication is not different from a strategy for success in business development or war. If you don’t appreciate strategy, you won’t value the use of tools. Each situation is different and does not stay the same. Before you communicate you have to analyze it, including the context and key people. Then define success. Each situation may ask for a different tool, set of tools or a different use or timing of the tools. The main tool is speech. You master it when listening becomes hearing.Then you also know how to use the other written media. The other tool is drawing. You master it when looking becomes seeing. Then you also know how to use the other visual media. The success of a strategy is not in the plan but in the planning. It is professional way of life. The principles of the way of the strategy are:
* Always be honest.
* Keep on practicing and learning.
* Become acquainted with every art.
* Know the mindset of all professions.
* In worldly affairs go for the result.
* Develop your intuitive judgment and understanding for every person or situation.
* Perceive things that cannot be seen.
* Pay attention to details.
* Do nothing which is of no use.

Communicating protected areas

2010-06-11T12:07:00.005+01:00

For Life's sake. With students of two universities I analyzed a slide show from WCPA to better communicate the importance of protected areas. Afterwards we looked at the final publication and saw that only a few of our concerns were addressed. These are some of the conclusions from the combined analysis. From a factual or scientific perspective the main values are comprehensively captured and translated into content to be communicated. From a communication perspective the top five suggestions for improvement are:
1. Change the word protected area – it does not trigger positive connotation by the non-experts, use words a ‘nature areas’, ‘conservation areas’, special bird areas etc.
2. Start with the positive dream that nature can play in our lives, do not start your messages with the threats, people will immediately switch off their attention and interest.
3. Don’t be abstract or use jargon, be concrete e.g. ‘the mangroves protect us against cyclones’ instead of ‘For life’s carbon buffers’; or ‘the river gives us to eat and drink’ instead of ‘For life’s essentials’.
4. Don’t use landscape photos – people can only positively associate with nice animals, or people in the landscape. If you use a good landscape photo, have a few words providing the essence, e.g. a wild forest = carbon store, food source, playground.
5. Make clear to whom you are talking, what your promise is and what you ask them to do. Be aware that for most people your messages are new and don’t try to cover everything, e.g. inspiration, meaning, joy etc. maybe a bridge too far. Better use words as playground, a space to find some inner peace.

Motivation

2010-06-10T09:32:00.004+01:00

Talking about competencies of a sustainability professional, I just received a nice tool from my colleague Dominic Stucker and could share it with the workshop participants. A great animation and talk by Al Gore’s former speechwriter Dan Pink, explaining what really drives and motivates humans.' A nice example how to communicate research and science.

Sustainability mindset

2010-06-09T11:15:00.010+01:00

Are conservation and sustainable development just another job opportunity or do they ask more of a professional? If so, where do I go to get the right education. The question of one of the participants makes me think. A recent study on ‘What a sustainability professional should know how to do´, surveyed opinions of experts in the field. It maps knowledge (concepts, theories, ideas, processes), skills (process dynamics, tools, methodologies), attributes (innate abilities) and performance competences (job/career duties/responsibilities) for corporate sustainability managers and community development professionals. Among the top three hard skills are strategic planning, system thinking and project management. The top three soft skills are communication, problem solving and inspiring and motivating. When we look at attributes we see a long list of innate abilities. The softer the skills and attibutes the less traditional training and learning approaches seem to have to offer. It looks as if it is a personal responsibility to develop these. Coaching or a teacher in an unexpected discipline (music, sports, meditation) may help. For me it is basically about looking inwards and practicing a sustainability mindset. Making yourself used of being mindful of others before self, non violence, respect for the diversity of life and cultures, timing, efficiency, effectiveness etc.

Sustainability: sacrifice and gain

2010-06-08T11:41:00.005+01:00

Sustainability does not mean sacrifice and expense. My environmental friends here in this Asian country are quite convinced. Instead it provides opportunities and competitive advantage. They have brought me in their four wheel drive to this fast food restaurant on top of a high rise building. Below the streets are literally filled with cars. More high rise buildings as far as I can see. Even this high my lungs seem to feel the air pollution. Transition to a sustainable urban development, mobility and clean air and water will not come only through new technologies and better planning. Habits also have to change. E.g. the habits of taking the car, throwing things so easily away. When you stop eating hamburgers and take the bicycle, in the end you will feel better and enjoy the exercise. But the behavior change has it costs: the pain of overcoming the resistance, the effort to keep repeating the new and unfamiliar behavior. I know you have to compromise, but if environmentalists want to be leaders in the change towards sustainability, they should continuously be mindful of what change really means and how it feels. The only way is to practice change yourself. Eating less or no meat is such a practice. Taking the bicycle or reducing your waste to (almost) zero too. Such practice means some sacrifice and expense, but it also provides opportunities for feeling better and gaining support for sustainability by being able to provide examples of change from personal experience.

Don't try this at home

2010-06-07T11:04:00.004+01:00

Donors often think that toolkits are a great way to support the implementation of policies. They can be, but only if accompanied by training and the awareness that experts still are needed. Toolkits contain very useful (explicit) knowledge, but one needs the tacit knowledge and skills of experts to solve questions of what is the right tool and when and how to use it. Otherwise the results might be contra-productive. I remember how I admired as a toddler my father’s carpentry toolkit. I was not allowed to touch any of these tools. I had to be content with my wooden play tools. When I was around ten years old my parents sent me to ‘carpentry’ lessons. An old carpenter had every Wednesday afternoon about ten boys in his work place who he would teach the basics of his trade. We learnt when and how to use each tool. The advantages and disadvantages of your choices and the dangers of either damaging the tool or yourself. After a few months I had acquired some basic skills and knowledge. And had produced a wooden footrest, as a birthday gift for my grandmother. I also knew now I should not try some of these tools at home alone. Some things you better leave to the specialists.

Learning finds us through social media.

2010-05-08T10:32:00.010+01:00

In the future we will not longer search for products and services they will find us via social media. This fundamental change in the way we communicate I personally experienced a few days ago. I opened my Plaxo for a few seconds when a blog entry of a colleague Gillian Martin-Mehers caught my eye. I realized that what I saw was a tool I could use to visualize in one image the key concepts of the Bali Action Plan, I was working on. After fiddling a bit with the tool, I also saw its potential for a front page of a new report, or a mirror for clients to illustrate the amount of jargon they use.

Communicating local stories

2010-04-30T10:16:00.010+01:00

How to communicate messages from a wide range of voices around the globe about what they consider essential to make the world more sustainable and how they contribute themselves? The Guardian last year provided us with a good example: web page with stories how people experience climate change. You click on the image of a person and a small window opens with a short text in which this person tells his or her story. The project is called the human face of climate change. Although the content focuses on the threats, the format seems to me a good way to communicate local case studies on sustainable development to a worldwide audience.

More than just a logo

2010-04-28T09:39:00.011+01:00

The logo of the International Year of Biodiversity is used for many events. Here for an exhibition in the Edinburgh Zoo. Yesterday I saw the logo in the Amsterdam Zoo on a conference banner. What I did not see, nor hear is the story that gets me ´on board´. Yesterday there was a lot of jargon. Not many people seem to use the text and narratives developed specially for the IYB. E.g. non jargon messages are:
You are an integral part of nature; your fate is tightly linked with biodiversity, the huge variety of other animals and plants, the places they live and their surrounding environments, all over the world.
You rely on this diversity of life to provide you with the food, fuel, medicine and other essentials you simply cannot live without. Yet this rich diversity is being lost at a greatly accelerated rate because of human activities. This impoverishes us all and weakens the ability of the living systems, on which we depend, to resist growing threats such as climate change. For more non-jargon bio-diversity messages read here.

Facilitation modalities

2010-04-27T19:09:00.017+01:00

Bringing people together to make a joint next step. That is in general often the objective of a conference. In one week time I attended two similar conferences. They had the same theme: ecosystem management and human well being. However they were different in focus and process. Both had framed the theme in a catchy way: 'Nature - What's in it for me?' and 'The Great Escape - There is NO Planet B!' The photo at the left shows the power point lecturing approach of the first conference; the two photos on the right show the interactive round table approach of the second one. The first conference aimed to take stock how IUCN members in the UK are contributing to this program area. The second to start a dialogue between IUCN members and the Dutch development community. Both had official parts with ministers, and ample room for networking. Exciting innovation of the second was a session with opportunities to contribute through twitter. Exciting during the first one was a dinner where a new multimedia project was launched 'why a wilder Britain is good for you'. The last difference was the facilitator: an insider in the first conference, a real outsider in the second one. Normally I prefer an outsider, assuming (s)he has empathy with the audience and affinity with the subject. I look forward to see the impact in terms of next steps of both conferences. I wonder what national committees could learn from each other about organizing conferences.

Earth Day: Give Earth a Hand

2010-04-22T19:17:00.000+01:00

Rethinking mobility, practicing slow life

2010-04-20T21:31:00.019+01:00

Imagine a world without planes. The closing of most of the European airspace during the last six days - because of the eruption of a volcano in Iceland - faced Europe with the question how to cope without air transport. Ferries and trains were quickly sold out. Stranded tourists had to deal with inconsistent information. Importers of fresh fruit had to rethink their logistics. We environmentalists got stuck in an international meeting. We now have to rethink our conference habits and use the new media more strategically. I will practice slow life on my 17 hours train ride from Edinburgh to Utrecht. And with me many others.

Showing the link between people and nature

2010-04-20T08:25:00.009+01:00

More than just some forest. That was the title of a picture of a British forest. The pay off was: Carbon store. Heat source. Playground. With powerful images and key words the 2020 vision for a wilder Britain was launched in Edinburgh at a reception for the UK Committee for IUCN. It was more convincing and to the point than any of the 20 power points shown during the day in the conference. Conservationist might want from now on to leave their power points home when they argue their case with non-experts in a ministry, an industry or the man in the street.

The fear to interact with stakeholders

2010-04-11T13:17:00.018+01:00

Biodiversity experts from government and NGO have a similar fear to interact with stakeholders during an excursion in a workshop. You have to prepare them and push softly. They need to adapt to a new 'rationale', quite different from their normal professional interaction when they represent the law or gather scientific facts. Once they have overcome their initial 'cold water' fear, these interactions of probing into hopes and fears of daily life become meaningful. And afterwards they are perceived as the most successful parts of a workshop. Over the last 15 years I had exactly the same experiences in Latin America, Africa, Central Europe and now in Bangladesh. As facilitator you have to listen to all their objections and excuses in advance "why this part of the program is not appropriate and can disrupt already difficult relations". But keep in mind: perseverance will be rewarded!

Effective messaging

2010-04-02T13:52:00.022+01:00

When determining the message content we also have to think what flavour, personality or association will be needed to have the desired effect on the audience. Musicians do this all the time. As this is Eastern, here are - thanks to YouTube - seven examples of the "Erbarme Dich" Aria from Bach's St Matthew Passion. And these are the 'flavours' I hear/see:
1. The awe for the distant divine (Eula Beal, Yehudi Menuhin, Antal Dorati, US late forties).
2. A subdued desperation about loss and mercy (Herbert von Karajan, Kathleen Ferrier, UK, late fifties).
3. A personal appeal for transparency, harmony and compassion (Julia Hamari, Karl Richter, Munich Bach Orchestre, late sixties).
4. The power and volume of musical performance and perfection over guilt and pity (Vladimir Spivakov and Tamara Sinyavskaya, Russia, late nineties) .
5. The quality of sound to evoke universal sympathy (Makiko Narumi, Japan, 2000)
6. Reading heartfelt sorrow from the score (Maureen Forrester, Antonio Janigro, I Musici di Zagreb, 1997).
7. The mystique of how it must have sounded in Bach’s time (Delphine Galou, Francois-Xavier Roth and Orchestre Les Siecles, France, 2009).

Communication management

2010-02-24T13:03:00.023Z

When you have enough time with a protagonist, spokes person or a resource person, use the opportunity to reach out to different audiences through different media. Last year the Fundación Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente did just that: a lecture and workshop for the audiences of the Casa Encendida, interviews to newspapers and magazins, a professional dialogue with their staff and input for an educational video. UNED, the Spanish Distance Education Channel used the input for a module in a course on sustainable development: Verdades y mentiras sobre el cambio climatico. The title is inspired on the lecture I gave an hour after this interview. The video also features on YouTube.

Segment your audience

2010-02-22T13:53:00.015Z

"We need to convince people about the importance of conservation". This was the first reaction of most respondents in a quick scan on communicating tiger conservation. Asked what key change agents could be, most came up with a further segmentation of 'people': villagers, forest department and politicians. One respondent even took a next step in segmentation: "we should identify the movers and shakers of key groups; communicate through them by framing the issue in terms that are relevant and functional for them". For me this would mean investing in target group research, dialogues and partnerships. And in deep listening when we talk to the various stakeholder groups. It reminds me of the change from a deficiency approach to a contextual approach:

Map proves PM wrong

2010-02-21T17:49:00.009Z

"Natura 2000 impacts negatively the balance between ecology and economy." A few weeks ago our Prime Minister Balkenende wrote this to Barroso the Chair of the European Commission. He sketched a picture that Natura 2000 was a far too heavy obstacle to economic recovery and progress in our small country. In an article in one of our major newspapers two ecologists argue it is the other way around. They illustrate their point with a map. It shows the Dutch Natura 2000 sites in their European context. The sites cover just over 8% of our territory and are mostly water areas. Most of the land surface - where economic activities take place - is white. The few sites on land, the ecologists argue, are under heavy threat by nitrogen from agricultural activities. The map for me says more than the whole article.

Three examples of workshop preparation

2010-02-18T12:11:00.009Z

The success is in the preparation. When a workshop is about public participation and you want to focus on impact it is good to articulate the demand. A workshop for staff of a sustainability institute is meant to update them on public participation and social marketing strategies. Telephonic interviews clarify the objectives of the management. An on line multiple choice test for staffs assesses current knowledge, attitudes and skills.
A UN workshop with representatives of government, academia, private sector and NGOs is meant to generate options for national policies and priorities for international action. A quick scan through telephonic interviews provides me with their views, perceptions and questions. This helps to brief speakers and to organize the various time slots.
A workshop of stakeholders in the conservation of a big mammal aims to formulate a communication strategy. Telephonic interviews with different participants about the issue, the role of communication, potential change agents, messages, current attitudes of major groups and perceived priorities provides insights of current knowledge, attitudes and skills and helps me plan the various timeslots.
The last questions always is: “what would make this workshop a success for you and what other good advice can you give me?”

Tiger conservation and empathy

2010-01-25T12:35:00.014Z

A Royal Bengal tiger has been beaten to death by villagers at Chandipur village in Shyamnagar upazila this evening in the presence of law enforcers as it eat up five goats. This how the Dhaka newspaper the Daily Independent opened an article about a clash between conservation and local villagers. What I get from the conservationists involved is that there are different perceptions about the facts, due to the emotions involved. And I should not belief the press too easily. It reminds me of cases in Eastern Europe where villagers killed wolves that had attacked their sheep and goats. There too was a huge difference in perceptions. To the extent that in some cases guns were fired at protected area staffs. Our mediation was successful as we focused first on the conservationists to generate more empathy with the villagers. The value of 5 or 10 sheep is not just the money to replace them. What about the shock among the whole herd that impacts the behavior of the sheep for days or weeks, the milk production and the time the farmer has to spend on damage control, repairs and getting compensation from the authorities. The latter was indeed such a bureaucratic procedure that even when we convinced the protected area staff to help farmers filling in the forms, nobody in the office was able to do so easily. Change to resolve conflicts with large mamals starts - I learned - with generating our own empathy as conservationists with the villagers. I am curious how that is in this tiger case.