Examples

When participants expressed concern to The Environment Network's home advisors aboutthe effectiveness of the alternative cleaning products they were promoting, these concernswere addressed directly. In addition, such comments were used to identify people whomight be motivated by concerns about cleanliness and hygiene.

Get in the Loop - Buy Recycled used a telephone survey to determine why people were not buying morerecycled-content products.

Marley Station Mall focused on the two most common motivators for exercising - health benefits and weight control.

During Green$avers EnerGuide For Houses visits a blower door test was integrated, because air leakage was considered to be the most serious area of energy loss, and the most effective and noticeable way to improve comfort and savings on energy bills.

Tip: See also the Tools Building Motivation Over Time and Overcoming Specific Barriers.

Tip: With face-to-face approaches you can look for clues and ask questions that identify the most important motivators and barriers for each person you contact. Train your program implementers to do this.

Examples

The Green Communities organizations involved residents in analyzing their utility bills.

The AIDS Peer Education Program required each team of peer educators to create two presentations - including skits, videos and posters - based on personal experiences but following a defined set of objectives and criteria. These were usually performed at their own school, which helped ensure that the manners and idioms used-which could vary from school to school within a given community-were culturally appropriate. During each presentation, the peer educators talked about the advantages of abstinence and condom use. They also enacted situations portraying the common barriers to abstinence and condom use, and demonstrated strategies to overcome them.

In Concert with the Environment used bar charts to show the "Eco-benefits"and dollar savings that participating house holds could obtain, as well as those alreadyachieved. Tree icons were used to show Eco-benefits and dollar signs to indicate the moneysaved.

Go Boulder's "Non-Polluting Commuter Race" pitted cyclists against motoristsin a cross-town competition, to demonstrate the convenience of riding a bicycle. Threeopponent pairs (three cyclists and three motorists) were given simple tasks or errands torun en route to the finish line. Both motorists and cyclists were required to park legallyand obey all traffic laws. Every year the bicyclists won.

Tip: Use images that are as close as possible to the experience of the person or people with whom you are communicating.

Tip: If you are talking about something that is intangible, make it more tangi-ble. If the person does not have much experience with it, relate it to something with which they have more experience.

Tip: Use as many senses as you can since some people are more auditory, others more visual, others more kinesthetic.

Tip: Make comparisons with well- known landmarks.

See also the Tool School Programs that Involve the Family.

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Cover of the Shade Trees for Guelph brochure.