Transcript:
If you want to learn how to talk to people about climate change, one expert suggests studying Taylor Swift.
Romm: “I think storytelling is the essential skill that we have to teach people who want to be better communicators in this space, and … she’s the master storyteller of the modern era.”
Joseph Romm is a senior research fellow at the Center for Science, Sustainability, and Media at the University of Pennsylvania. And he’s a Swiftie who co-hosts a podcast in which he and his daughter analyze the storytelling techniques Taylor Swift uses in her songs.
He suggests using stories to communicate about climate change because they’re memorable and they engage people on an emotional level.
Romm: “Start with your personal story, and let people know what you’ve been through and why it means something to you.”
And he recommends using metaphors to make concepts more relatable – like describing climate-warming pollution as a heat-trapping blanket.
Romm: “I think metaphors are the single most powerful thing. And of course, you know, Taylor Swift uses a great many metaphors. … You know, when she says, ‘Darling, I’m a nightmare dressed like a daydream,’ right? That’s two metaphors.”
So to help increase awareness of climate change, Romm advises people to put on their headphones and learn from a modern master of storytelling.
Reporting credit: Sarah Kennedy / ChavoBart Digital Media
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