APracticalGuide
toEffectingChange
WhileMaintaining
Hope
Susi Moser, Ph.D.
Susanne Moser Research & Consulting
Antioch University New England
University of Massachusetts-Amherst
Unwrap the Future: Practical Advice to Reduce Plastic Pollution in Our Communities • February 7, 2022
BEST FOR You
O R G A N I C S C O M P A N Y
2
Households/
Families/
Individuals
Schools/
Businesses/
Organizations
Communities
Regions
States
Nation
Multi-national
corporations
Globe/ International
community
Change is
needed
at all levels
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O R G A N I C S C O M P A N Y
3
Change at every level… It matters
• Individual/household/business contributions to the solution
• Education from early on (children ↔ parents)
• Peer pressure/creating new social norms
• Awareness raising
• Supply-side solutions sparks innovation
• The default choice is the right choice
Source: Town of Medway. MA
Source: https://goloadup.com/what-can-go-curbside-recycling-bin/
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O R G A N I C S C O M P A N Y
4
Change at every level… It matters
Source: Rockefeller Institute of Government
• Political advocacy creates bottom-up pressure
• Support for each other in taking courageous action
• Votes, i.e. political accountability
• Demonstrate that alternatives work (at scale)
• Pioneering states pave the way to regional/national
solutions (e.g., market-based or policy change)
Source: The Martha’s Vineyard Times
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O R G A N I C S C O M P A N Y
It is in our collective DNA to go big if we put our minds to it
» National
• Federal laws
• Wartime mobilization
• Race to the Moon
• Massive innovative policy intervention (e.g.,
the (original) New Deal)
• Crisis response (rationing and investment)
• Social movements
• Revolution
» International agreements 5
Photos (t>b): Greenpeace, College of the Holy Cross, Omega Speedmaster Professional, Leaflet on Wikimedia, Timetoast, Center for Progressive Reform, UN, UNEA, WallpaperDog
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O R G A N I C S C O M P A N Y
Interlocking forces shaping our response
Bottom-up
Top-down
Global
Local
Fast
Slow
Nonlinear,
Disruptive
Radical/deep
Adaptive
Linked
CLIMATE DISRUPTIONS
SOCIETAL DISRUPTIONS
BEST FOR You
O R G A N I C S C O M P A N Y
7
Communicating
for Change
at any level
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O R G A N I C S C O M P A N Y
Can we get anyone to listen? To care? To act?
Source: goodmustgrow.com Source: The New York Times
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O R G A N I C S C O M P A N Y
The persistent gap between what we say and what we do
Said is not heard;
Heard is not understood;
Understood is not agreed;
Agreed is not implemented.
(unknown Dutch source)
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O R G A N I C S C O M P A N Y
COMMUNICATION
BEHAVIOR
Source:
Adapted
from
Webb
(2008)
If we want people to “walk their talk”, we need to connect talk to walk
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O R G A N I C S C O M P A N Y
Toward active engagement
For communication to be effective, i.e., to facilitate an intended societal
response or desired social change, it must:
(1) sufficiently elevate and maintain the motivation
to change a practice or policy
&
(2) contribute to lowering barriers and resistance
to doing so
Communication
Motivation
Resistance/
Barriers
Social
Change &
Action
Check out this interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQa4KkX-PUE (3 -4 minutes) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQQr7gCb05Q (35 minutes)
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O R G A N I C S C O M P A N Y
Communication for social change: 7 basic steps
1. Identify and get to know your audience.
2. Define clear communication goals.
3. Frame the issue in resonant ways.
4. Use the right messenger and appropriate
channels and venues for your communication.
5. Empower and enable the audience to act.
6. Repeat – Follow-up – Deepen.
7. Review – evaluate – learn.
Source: Wordpress.com
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O R G A N I C S C O M P A N Y
Keeping
Going
in the Face
of Tough
Odds
13
BEST FOR You
O R G A N I C S C O M P A N Y
Source: Flickr/GideonWright
“…[a time when]
every fiber of our being
is interlaced, even complicit,
in the webs of processes
that must somehow be engaged
and [that] must be repatterned.”
Donna Haraway (2017)
“…a disaster made to
come true by our …
refusal to make
the world a
matter of
care.”
“…an unprecedented
looking away.”
“The outrage meriting a name like ‘Anthropocene’”
Donna Haraway (2017, p.100)
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O R G A N I C S C O M P A N Y
Between the Impossible and the Unthinkable
“That is where we are:
Stuck between the impossible and the unthinkable.
David Roberts,Ted talk (2012)
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pznsPkJy2x8
And so for the rest of your life,
your job is to make the impossible possible.”
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O R G A N I C S C O M P A N Y
It always seems impossible,
…until it’s done.
Nelson Mandela
Photo:
Mandela:
The
Man
and
His
Country
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O R G A N I C S C O M P A N Y
Image:www.stonehill.edu
…on a scale from 1-5
1 – not at all hopeful ………………..5 – totally hopeful
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O R G A N I C S C O M P A N Y
Image: spectrum-of-the-sky (all4desktop.com; Classification: P.E. Stoknes (2015) & Jonathan Lear (2006)
Active
Optimism
“Heroic
Hope”
Passive
Skepticism
“Stoic
Hope”
Active
Skepticism
“Grounded
Hope”
Active
Transform’n
“Radical
Hope”
Varieties of Hope
Passive
Optimism
“Pollyanna
Hope”
BEST FOR You
O R G A N I C S C O M P A N Y
Seven ingredients of authentic/grounded/active hope
Photo: villageofhopeuganda.com
Source: Moser & Berzonsky (2018)
Call on my
highest self
Clear-eyed
diagnosis,
with
empathy
Vision of a
worthwhile
outcome
Feasible
path
Meaningful
role for me
Strategy for
setbacks and
interim goals
Doing it
together
BEST FOR You
O R G A N I C S C O M P A N Y
If you need to go fast,
go alone.
If you need to go far,
go together.
African proverb
Hope for the long haul? – Go it together!
Photo: Susi Moser
Thank You
Susi Moser, Ph.D.
Director, Susanne Moser Research & Consulting
Research Faculty, Antioch University New England
promundi@susannemoser.com
www.susannemoser.com

Susanne Moser, PhD: A Practical Guide to Effecting Change While Maintaining Hope

  • 1.
    APracticalGuide toEffectingChange WhileMaintaining Hope Susi Moser, Ph.D. SusanneMoser Research & Consulting Antioch University New England University of Massachusetts-Amherst Unwrap the Future: Practical Advice to Reduce Plastic Pollution in Our Communities • February 7, 2022
  • 2.
    BEST FOR You OR G A N I C S C O M P A N Y 2 Households/ Families/ Individuals Schools/ Businesses/ Organizations Communities Regions States Nation Multi-national corporations Globe/ International community Change is needed at all levels
  • 3.
    BEST FOR You OR G A N I C S C O M P A N Y 3 Change at every level… It matters • Individual/household/business contributions to the solution • Education from early on (children ↔ parents) • Peer pressure/creating new social norms • Awareness raising • Supply-side solutions sparks innovation • The default choice is the right choice Source: Town of Medway. MA Source: https://goloadup.com/what-can-go-curbside-recycling-bin/
  • 4.
    BEST FOR You OR G A N I C S C O M P A N Y 4 Change at every level… It matters Source: Rockefeller Institute of Government • Political advocacy creates bottom-up pressure • Support for each other in taking courageous action • Votes, i.e. political accountability • Demonstrate that alternatives work (at scale) • Pioneering states pave the way to regional/national solutions (e.g., market-based or policy change) Source: The Martha’s Vineyard Times
  • 5.
    BEST FOR You OR G A N I C S C O M P A N Y It is in our collective DNA to go big if we put our minds to it » National • Federal laws • Wartime mobilization • Race to the Moon • Massive innovative policy intervention (e.g., the (original) New Deal) • Crisis response (rationing and investment) • Social movements • Revolution » International agreements 5 Photos (t>b): Greenpeace, College of the Holy Cross, Omega Speedmaster Professional, Leaflet on Wikimedia, Timetoast, Center for Progressive Reform, UN, UNEA, WallpaperDog
  • 6.
    BEST FOR You OR G A N I C S C O M P A N Y Interlocking forces shaping our response Bottom-up Top-down Global Local Fast Slow Nonlinear, Disruptive Radical/deep Adaptive Linked CLIMATE DISRUPTIONS SOCIETAL DISRUPTIONS
  • 7.
    BEST FOR You OR G A N I C S C O M P A N Y 7 Communicating for Change at any level
  • 8.
    BEST FOR You OR G A N I C S C O M P A N Y Can we get anyone to listen? To care? To act? Source: goodmustgrow.com Source: The New York Times
  • 9.
    BEST FOR You OR G A N I C S C O M P A N Y The persistent gap between what we say and what we do Said is not heard; Heard is not understood; Understood is not agreed; Agreed is not implemented. (unknown Dutch source)
  • 10.
    BEST FOR You OR G A N I C S C O M P A N Y COMMUNICATION BEHAVIOR Source: Adapted from Webb (2008) If we want people to “walk their talk”, we need to connect talk to walk
  • 11.
    BEST FOR You OR G A N I C S C O M P A N Y Toward active engagement For communication to be effective, i.e., to facilitate an intended societal response or desired social change, it must: (1) sufficiently elevate and maintain the motivation to change a practice or policy & (2) contribute to lowering barriers and resistance to doing so Communication Motivation Resistance/ Barriers Social Change & Action Check out this interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQa4KkX-PUE (3 -4 minutes) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQQr7gCb05Q (35 minutes)
  • 12.
    BEST FOR You OR G A N I C S C O M P A N Y Communication for social change: 7 basic steps 1. Identify and get to know your audience. 2. Define clear communication goals. 3. Frame the issue in resonant ways. 4. Use the right messenger and appropriate channels and venues for your communication. 5. Empower and enable the audience to act. 6. Repeat – Follow-up – Deepen. 7. Review – evaluate – learn. Source: Wordpress.com
  • 13.
    BEST FOR You OR G A N I C S C O M P A N Y Keeping Going in the Face of Tough Odds 13
  • 14.
    BEST FOR You OR G A N I C S C O M P A N Y Source: Flickr/GideonWright “…[a time when] every fiber of our being is interlaced, even complicit, in the webs of processes that must somehow be engaged and [that] must be repatterned.” Donna Haraway (2017) “…a disaster made to come true by our … refusal to make the world a matter of care.” “…an unprecedented looking away.” “The outrage meriting a name like ‘Anthropocene’” Donna Haraway (2017, p.100)
  • 15.
    BEST FOR You OR G A N I C S C O M P A N Y Between the Impossible and the Unthinkable “That is where we are: Stuck between the impossible and the unthinkable. David Roberts,Ted talk (2012) Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pznsPkJy2x8 And so for the rest of your life, your job is to make the impossible possible.”
  • 16.
    BEST FOR You OR G A N I C S C O M P A N Y It always seems impossible, …until it’s done. Nelson Mandela Photo: Mandela: The Man and His Country
  • 17.
    BEST FOR You OR G A N I C S C O M P A N Y Image:www.stonehill.edu …on a scale from 1-5 1 – not at all hopeful ………………..5 – totally hopeful
  • 18.
    BEST FOR You OR G A N I C S C O M P A N Y Image: spectrum-of-the-sky (all4desktop.com; Classification: P.E. Stoknes (2015) & Jonathan Lear (2006) Active Optimism “Heroic Hope” Passive Skepticism “Stoic Hope” Active Skepticism “Grounded Hope” Active Transform’n “Radical Hope” Varieties of Hope Passive Optimism “Pollyanna Hope”
  • 19.
    BEST FOR You OR G A N I C S C O M P A N Y Seven ingredients of authentic/grounded/active hope Photo: villageofhopeuganda.com Source: Moser & Berzonsky (2018) Call on my highest self Clear-eyed diagnosis, with empathy Vision of a worthwhile outcome Feasible path Meaningful role for me Strategy for setbacks and interim goals Doing it together
  • 20.
    BEST FOR You OR G A N I C S C O M P A N Y If you need to go fast, go alone. If you need to go far, go together. African proverb Hope for the long haul? – Go it together! Photo: Susi Moser
  • 21.
    Thank You Susi Moser,Ph.D. Director, Susanne Moser Research & Consulting Research Faculty, Antioch University New England [email protected] www.susannemoser.com

Editor's Notes

  • #13 Basic Communication Strategy - and our road map for the day. Let’s get started. We are going to divide you up into teams for the day. Each team will focus on one particular audience.
  • #17 Because it always seems impossible until it’s done.
  • #18 Which brings me to the question of hope. What in the world can we hope for given all this?
  • #19 Which brings me back to hope. What kind of hope will see us through the hard work of a transformation? Probably not the kind that Per Estes Stoknes calls “Pollyana Hope”, which basically says, “Don’t worry, be happy!” Everything will be fine! And probably not the next kind either, Heroic Hope, a form of hope that still believes in positive outcomes, you just have to work a lot harder for them. But maybe you subscribe to a different kind of hope, one not at all convinced that positive outcomes are assured, but where you trust, that even if things don’t turn out so good, we will persist. A Stoic Hope, that let’s you say, “Bring it on! We can handle it” And then there is a whole other kind of hope. Stoknes calls it Grounded Hope, Joanna Macy calls it Active Hope. Here again, you are not at all convinced that good outcomes are assured, in fact, it may well get really bad, but you couldn’t look yourself in the mirror in the morning, if you didn’t do EVERYTHING you could to work for what is good and right. Until recently, I thought these four types of hope cover the waterfront. Until I read Jonathan Lear’s book, Radical Hope. Radical Hope is one in which you not only have to let go of wishing for good outcomes, but where you have to let go of knowing what a good outcome is, what the right means to get there, are. Where your entire reference system of right and wrong, good and bad must also change. I’m quite convinced that only the latter 2 or 3 varieties of hope will be sturdy enough to weather transformative change.
  • #20 How to we foster such hope? It takes at least these 7 ingredients, not offered up once, but repeatedly, and not necessarily in that order, but again and again these 7: Clear-eyed diagnosis, empathically told: Where are we at? Vision of a worthwhile outcome: What is achievable? Feasible path: How can we get from here to there? Strategy for setbacks and interim goals: What to do when the going gets tough? Meaningful role for me: What can I do? Call on my highest self: Who do I most want to be? Doing it together: What will you (others) do?