Understanding the role of communication to reach your goal
Working hard on your goal distorts your perception
The harder you work for your goal, the more important it becomes. For you! Not automatically for the people whose behavior you want to change. The result: you probably overestimate the power of communication.
Having too high expectations of communication leads to failure
When your expectations of communication are too high, you will fail. Before you design you communication strategy, you need a realistic judgment: can communication alone reach my goal? Or do I need other tools on the side to do the job?
Do you remember a situation when communication failed because of an overestimated power of communication itself?
Using supporting tools to reach your goal
Often you need other tools as well to change behavior:
Rules. To forbid wrong behavior or to prescribe right behavior.
Enforcement of rules. Without enforcement, rules are a paper tiger.
Infrastructure. To help implement the right behavior.
Our story of Rezvin: Understanding the role of communication to stop the killing of stray tigers
Before talking openly with villagers, WildTeam searched in the dark for the best way to influence them. With great difficulty, WildTeam started a tiger response team in just two villages. Adding more villages was a huge challenge. Rezvin looks back: ‘From the personal stories of the villagers, we learned that they love the Sundarbans just as much as we do. It’s not us against them, as we believed before. We are in the same boat. The thick mangrove forest protects the villagers and takes care of them. We are both dedicated to save both forest and tiger. The people survived rough storms and devastating cyclones …. Read more
This story shows us that communication alone can’t do the trick. Training of volunteers for Tiger Response Teams was needed. The members learned new skills. Cooperation with the Forest Department was required as well. The volunteers of the Tiger Response Teams developed working relations with WildTeams’ emergency response team and with the Forest Department.
The key to success was the combination of a step-by-step approach starting with a doable subgoal (communicating about the value and importance of mother-like Sundarbans) and offering training, material and capacity to change the game.
Case examples
Below are three examples of a prize winning projects showcasing that it is possible to change behavior if you combine communication with supporting interventions.
Listening leads to the right intervention
The hot beautiful Zambia Luanga River Valley has an amazing diversity of wildlife, especially elephants, hippos, crocodiles, zebras, wildebeest and other large animals. It has been so for ages. But as time goes by and with a growing population the pressures on nature and wildlife increases. The areas became rife with poachers that threatened….Read more
Video: Listening leads to the right intervention
Respect as a basis for help
“It is important to understand that those who have lived with the forest for centuries and preserved the forest for centuries are the best how to conserve it, use it and take care of it.” In her colorful sari, Ms Kusum Karnik -a strong local NGO leader with an academic background- tells about the ancient culture, the traditions and tribal life in rural Maharashtra, India…..Read more
Health motivates positive action
“My name is Fernanda. I am from a Nahua family in the village of Oxtoyahualco in the state of Guerrero, Mexico. I am a mother of four. I cannot read or write. I have been a farmer all my life. My main concern has always been the well being of my family. I love the land where we live. In my great grandmother’s time, it used to be full of beautiful forested valleys. There were many ….Read more
“It is important to understand that those who have lived with the forest for centuries and preserved the forest for centuries are the best how to conserve it, use it and take care of it.” In her colorful sari, Ms Kusum Karnik -a strong local NGO leader with an academic background- tells about the ancient culture, the traditions and tribal life in rural Maharashtra, India…..
“My name is Fernanda. I am from a Nahua family in the village of Oxtoyahualco in the state of Guerrero, Mexico. I am a mother of four. I cannot read or write. I have been a farmer all my life. My main concern has always been the well being of my family. I love the land where we live. In my great grandmother’s time, it used to be full of beautiful forested valleys. There were many ….