How to change people's behaviour, according to experts
So you wanna change people’s behaviour, eh?
1. Knowledge is Key
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
Information campaigns are the most widely used ways to encourage behaviour change. If people don’t know a problem exists, they can’t even begin to try and solve it. Worse: they might know there’s a problem, but have no idea how to solve it. Yikes. Although knowledge is key, it also can’t be the only tool to effectively change behaviour. If you’re not sure where to start, download this important resource.
2. Messaging Matters
Your mum told you don’t say anything if you don’t have something nice to say. This doesn’t apply here. You have to change your message constantly, by making subtle changes based on the demographic of who you’re talking to.
Some tips:
- Focus on important, local, immediate affects of climate change in your area.
- Focus on other overlapping issues related to health and saving money where possible.
3. Conscious Commitments
Asking people to make a conscious commitment is undoubtedly one of the best ways to encourage people to change their behaviour. And no, that doesn’t mean just encouraging people to tell themselves in the mirror! Commitment making, or pledging, is defined as “binding an individual to a certain opinion or behaviour.” It’s a powerful way to encourage people to act.
For example, when people are asked to make pledges, such as save energy or recycle, they’re more likely to follow through with their planned actions. This is especially effective if the pledges are made public – so be sure to encourage people to pledge to actions on social media. And hey, if you’re looking for some pledges to take, why not head to our pledges page to take a few?
4. Go Getter to Goal Getter
To get people to make changes, they need to have goals – so why not convince them to set some? Help people set goals and you’ll get them to work toward them! A great approach to goal setting is based on S.M.A.R.T. planning. Goals need to be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound. Goals should also have concrete and step-by-step plans to ensure success in helping people reach them. An idea might look like “I’m going to reduce 3 pieces of single-use plastics in my kitchen by the end of this month“. So go on, let’s get people to be planet goal getters!
5. Feedback Frenzy
There’s no progress without feedback! In order to change, people need information about their performance – how are they doing? What did they do well? What can they do better? By providing people with information on how to achieve a certain outcome, the more effective feedback is. For example, saving water can reduce your water bill and conserve water. Therefore, you should take a shorter shower. The more personalized the feedback the better!
6. Social Savvy
One is the loneliest number…Of course it is! We can’t affect one person’s behaviour without affecting a group. Humans are social beings. We compare ourselves to others, we learn from others, and we look to each other for advice on what is “normal” and “approved”. Therefore, there’s a lot to be said about involving groups of people – together. Our behaviour change efforts need to be designed in ways for people to share them, talk about them, and get involved with friends, families, co-workers, and peers. Getting people to change for our planet should be a group effort – and we can work together to adopt “new normals” like eating a vegetarian meal at thanksgiving as a family.
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7. Game-Changer
We’re all a little bit competitive. And that’s why using games can be an effective way to get people to change their behaviour. Whether it be a one player game or a multi-player game, challenges, games and competitions are a great addition to any behaviour change goal. People don’t want to “lose” and they’ll work to “win”. It’s important to note that utilizing games is most effective with other strategies and can be seen as the “training wheels” to get people moving in the right direction. Games can be effective at capturing people’s attention and getting them started. Here at Random Acts of Green, we love games – and we’d invite you to check out our additional resources here on how we use this tactic.
We hope you’re feeling inspired by these behaviour change methods. This article utilized this resource as a reference, which you can explore for more information.
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