Climate Conversations
What is a climate conversation?
A climate conversation is any conversation with one or a few people about climate change. It is personal and engaging, and your focus is to relate to the person you’re talking to.
Who can you talk about climate change with?
You can talk about climate change with really anyone, but if you’re feeling nervous, it might be more comfortable to talk to a friend or family member first. Then, you can try talking with a classmate, teacher, or other adult. As you get more comfortable, you’ll be able to talk to strangers about climate change and widen your impact beyond your circle.
How can you find someone to talk about climate change with?
It’s important to find someone interested in the same things you are, so that the conversation doesn't come to an abrupt pause due to a lack of knowledge on the topic. If you want to converse about climate change, look for people that are involved in environmental clubs in school, local activists that reside in your community, or even friends and family that love talking about nature. As long as both parties are educated on the given topic, there’s no need to worry about the discussion becoming awkward or cumbersome.
Before you start...
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Make sure you’re comfortable about basic climate change information so that you’re prepared to defend climate science. You can use Kids Fight Climate Change’s Basics of Climate Change to brush up on the building blocks of climate change, like the greenhouse effect or current climate effects.
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Review the effects of climate change, recent Climate News, evidence, and solutions. This doesn’t have to be in-depth — just make sure you’re ready to answer questions.
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As your last step, identify 1-2 things you want your audience to take away from your conversation. That might change depending on who you’re talking to:
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For instance, if you’re talking to someone skeptical about climate change, you could focus on current climate change events that affect that person while backing up your statements with some scientific evidence.
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Meanwhile, if your audience is hopeless about solving climate change, you might point out a few tangible climate solutions and share that we have the technology, we just need to implement it.
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Whoever your audience is, it’s important that you set up these goals so that your conversation has a clear trajectory.
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