CHANGE

How to Advocate, so People Will Listen

Be a change seeker and take action to create a better world

Advocacy starts with a feeling, an aching in your heart and bones that won’t go away. It means coming to care so genuinely for a cause that you feel compelled to take action. This article discusses ways we can encourage others to consider our ideas and join us in making changes for the better.

Look, Listen and Feel

I run a first aid training business, and in our classes, we teach people to Look, Listen and Feel for breathing. Look, Listen and Feel also applies to advocacy work.

Look into the eyes of your workers, family members, and people on the streets. See past oily overalls, scuffed work boots, and weary faces. Be respectful of language barriers, cultural mysteries, and religious affiliations. Look deeply into a person’s eyes when you speak with them. Acknowledge them.

Listen to frontline workers who speak from hospitals, grocery stores, factory floors, classrooms, office cubicles, and rail yards. Listen to the people who do the work. Pay attention to those who have learned from bitter, painful experiences how to do their job well.

Learn from people who’ve had the grit and courage to pull themselves up by their bootstraps despite poverty, abuse, lack of education, or opportunities. Make time to hear their stories.

Feel the pain of others. Even if just for a moment, put yourself in the other person’s shoes. Imagine how it would feel to be in their situation.

Look at both sides — always.

Advocating effectively

Open peoples’ eyes through education. Make your message easily shareable and memorable, and create awareness peacefully. If you find that you are standing alone, it may be because others don’t have the same information as you do.

If you want support from people, it is your responsibility to educate them. People may not agree with you, but they will respect you as long as you show respect for them.

Get your facts right

Do your research and provide evidence. If you share data, statistics, and supporting arguments, quote reputable sources and make it easy for people to check them. If you inspire a person with your initiative, and they want to take further action, they will need to be sure of their footing before moving forward. If they are wise, they will do background checks on you and your work before putting their neck out to support your cause.

Complaining is a waste of time

Be the problem solver, the solution bringer, the person who fixes stuff and makes things work. Spend time analyzing the situation and figuring out how to make it better, and then take action and lead from the front.

Speak your truth to power

Be able to speak eloquently and passionately to changemakers, the powers that be. Even better, take the necessary steps to become a changemaker. Take courses, attend workshops and conferences, educate yourself, and become an expert in your field. Learn how to write well, speak well, and communicate well.

You may choose to be daring and take a risk

Some people enjoy being reckless; most people prefer to take calculated risks. If you decide to dangle out of an airplane holding a sign, make sure you’re wearing a parachute.

Don’t worry too much about what people think of you

When you speak out with passion, there will be those who disagree with you. Don’t let that hold you back for one moment. Stand up for what is right. Speak your mind even if your knees wobble and your voice shakes. If you have a kind heart, good intentions, and courage, people will listen to you.

Risk losing friends and making enemies. Always be true to yourself.

Lift people up

Advocate for the less fortunate. Speak up for homeless people, hungry kids, those with substance use issues, and the mentally ill. Chat with them, listen to them, help them.

I admire the change seekers who acknowledge the suffering of others and recognize injustice, the change enablers for speaking out and empowering people and the change makers who put new and improved systems into place.

I salute those who take the time

to care

to learn

to act

to be uncomfortable

to suffer

“The times they are a-changing,” sang Bob Dylan. Are they changing for the better? I ask myself. Are they changing because of something I did?

Be part of the change and have patience — because change takes time.

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