Communicating about Climate Change - Expert Webinar with Dr. Renee Lertzman

Do you find yourself stymied about what the best way is to communicate about our climate crisis and the need for swift action in all corners of the world? Does it seem like you are stuck between being too positive or too negative? Are you worried about helping people feel hopeful, when the scale of what we face is so immense? 

Whatever aspect of our climate work you focus on, climate change is a hugely psychologically fraught part of our lives. We don’t want people to get overwhelmed or depressed, and yet the situation is dire and scary. The necessary transformations can call into question for many, our values and ways of post-industrial life. And this can lead people to seize up, feel afraid or want to withdraw, become openly hostile and resistant, or deeply sad and in despair. All of these responses are normal and make sense.

In this webinar, Dr. Renee Lertzman talks to us about the ways we can choose to succeed in communicating about climate change and realize the big changes that we require.

Agenda:

1. Introduction

2. Practical Activities

3. Discussion

4. Teaching Input: What does it mean to really relate?

5. Q&A (25 minutes)

6. Closing

About the Speaker:

Dr. Renée Lertzman works at the intersection of psychology, climate change, and organizational change. She partners with organizations across governmental, public and private sectors, and designs programmes, trainings and advising for changemakers to evolve as “guides.” She is a TED speaker, public speaker, writer and thought leader. Dr. Lertzman has dedicated the past thirty years to the study and practice of how psychology can inform our existential work on climate, environment and conservation. She has a PhD in social sciences from Cardiff University, and a Master’s in Communications from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. You can find her TED talk here and her award-winning project, Project InsideOut, here.

This webinar is an addition to our guide "Talking about Hard Truths: The Key to Communicating about Climate Change" which was also written by Dr. Renee Lertzman.