How to Talk about the Climate Crisis Without Overheating and Keep Your Friends
Canadians are worried about climate change and most support the transition to clean energy, but the pace is still too slow for science. If we can learn to talk with each other so we all feel included, decision makers will move faster to better protect our health and communities.
This course will give you the tools you need, derived from experts in values research, storytelling, and communications so you are comfortable helping people understand the ways climate change matters to them, why it’s hard to talk about, how to get started, what moves people towards action and how to have the conversation without getting sad or overheated.
More than 150 people have taken this constantly updated, multimedia, highly participatory, evidence-based course with very high levels of satisfaction. Some comments include:
- Patricia laid out some arguments and techniques that I have already put into practice. I am the lead on a very active environmental justice team and what I have learned from Patricia is already having an effect. She set out the course really well and provided easy to follow ideas with some tough homework to bring it home.
- What a super great course and an excellent compassionate instructor!
- Lots to reflect on and refer to.
- I am so pleased with the skills and knowledge gained.
- Normally I feel quite inhibited in class settings. Patricia made lots of room for participation and I felt comfortable.
- Attitude shifting and skill building: Two hours once a week for 4 weeks with an expectation that they will do one hour of prep between each session. (People love the assignments which include quizzes, reflective work, podcasts, reading etc.)
- Attitude shifting and learn what skills are useful. Two hours once a week for 2 weeks. Participation in the second week requires participation in the first week. One hour prep before each session. This
- Attitude shifting. 1 hour and 25 minutes with the expectation of organized feedback tailor-made to the group.
How to register: I will deliver it to any group of 8 or more. Once you have a group assembled get in touch.
Other Services: Moderating panels on climate change; Building intergenerational understanding and good will. Coaching about climate communications.
Fee: I don’t charge a fee. (Honoraria are accepted but not required. They are used to improve my presentations. I do ask that someone be designated as the contact person with your group, that I not be asked to take care of registration or correspondence or technical difficulties participants might experience. I use my own Zoom link.
Course Description Handy Bio: Patty Lane, mediator, arbitrator, and retired lawyer, was the longest serving member of the Sierra Club Board and still serves in a variety of capacities. She has been studying effective climate communication since 2010 when she helped to found LeadNow.ca. She co-founded GVAT – Victoria a coalition of 30 organisations representing 60,000 people working on issues of common concern including climate fairness.. She has taught this course for Vancouver Island Elder College, Nanaimo Green Faith, SPEC Vancouver, Sierra Club BC, Greater Victoria Acting Together and other groups and will provide it for University of Victoria Continuing Education in the Fall of 2023. She is loosely affiliated with Climate Access and Re:Climate at Carleton University and relies heavily on their work. Patricia provides advice on effective climate communications for a variety of organizations and as “Canada’s Most Hopeful Climate Columnist” writes a weekly column for National Observer profiling people making a difference in climate change.