Ways to do outreach

Survey Boards

Board1.pdfOriginal document here

Citizen Survey Board for 3.5 Outreach

For more guidance on how to reach out to people or how to sign them up, read the 3.5 Volunteer Handbook.

Survey boards are a great outreach method and proved to be really effective and fun to use on the bus tour. Rebels have said that the boards can be an easy method to initiate conversations as people are curious about the boards and approach your stall more readily. We have presented two board design options below for groups to try.

B O A R D - D E S I G N S

#1: The Simple One

Question 1 (First Panel)
How concerned are you about the climate crisis?

⇒ Either use a scale of 1-5 where 1 is ‘not worried’ and 5 is ‘terrified’, or 1-5 different choices, for example


  1. Not Worried
  2. Bit Uneasy
  3. Quite Worried
  4. Seriously Concerned
  5. Terrified

Question 2 (Second Panel)
Do you think that the UK Government is doing enough? (optional ‘about it’?)

⇒ Use a scale of 1-5 where 1 is ‘They’re hopeless’ and 5 is ‘They’re doing a great job’

Or just use the emojis from the template.

Question 3 (Third panel)
[For The Big One April 2023] Would you consider going to the Parliament in London alongside 100,000 other people (between/from) 21st-24th April (optional - ‘to call for an end to the fossil fuel era?’)

⇒ People add sticker if they are ‘considering’ and don’t if they aren’t (no need for Yes/No)

Optional text to print ‘sign up to our email list here..’ and ‘keep yourself informed…’

Possible additions - but keep things neat and tidy

#2: The Deliberative One

Question 1 (First Panel)
How concerned are you about the climate crisis?

⇒ Either use a scale of 1-5 where 1 is ‘not worried’ and 5 is ‘terrified’, or 1-5 different choices, for example


  1. Not Worried
  2. Bit Uneasy
  3. Quite Worried
  4. Seriously Concerned
  5. Terrified

Question 2 (Second Panel)
Which of these climate impacts concerns you most? You can choose more than one answer.

⇒ Divide the panel up into sections where participants can place their stickers:


  1. Extreme weather, e.g. flooding, drought and heatwaves
  2. Political Instability
  3. Wildlife loss and destruction
  4. Energy crisis
  5. Food insecurity
  6. Pollution
  7. Other

Question 3 (Third Panel)
Do you think that our Government is doing enough?

⇒ Use a scale of 1-5 where 1 is ‘They’re hopeless’ and 5 is ‘They’re doing a great job’


Or just use the emojis from the template.

Question 4 (Fourth Panel)
How could we as ordinary citizens put enough pressure on our government for it to act more urgently? Choose the options that are most effective.

⇒ Divide the panel up into sections where participants can place their stickers:


  1. General strike
  2. Tax strike
  3. Petitions
  4. Get professionals/notables to sign open letter to MP
  5. Mass marches
  6. Lobbying together with a pressure group
  7. Take part in mass civil disobedience
  8. Creative stunts & actions

P R O D U C I N G - T H E - B O A R D S

We recommend purchasing white A1 or A0 foamboards that can be found from craft stores or online (approximately 1m x 70-80cm)

Files to print for the survey

#1: The Simple One

#2: The Deliberative One

#3: A colour version of a Citizen’s Assembly focussed board
Pdf to download here - you should be able to print these at home and carefully tile together to create the size you need for these boards.

Creating your own versions using the XR FUCXED CAPS as well as other fonts and symbols can be downloaded here.

We have suggested two ways to attach the boards together though you might find alternative methods that work for you.

Wooden Support

Bamboo

General Advice

Street Outreach During the Rebellion and at Actions

When Nonviolent Civil Disobedience has been most effective, it has taken place on a foundation of connected and organised communities. Actions are our primary way to get into the public eye but our actions alone are not enough. We need to use these actions to start conversations, to tell the truth and to open our arms to all who wish to join us.

Talking to Passers By

Part of our purpose as rebels is to Tell the Truth, so engaging with the general public during a Rebellion is vital. Some might be a bit annoyed with you/Extinction Rebellion, so it may be useful to have some de-escalation training under your belt, but most are simply curious!

Aim To:
• Listen to them.
• Share the facts but don’t overwhelm them.
• Shift their frustrations and anger from XR to the system as a whole.
• Invite them to take a step with a small ask or an invitation (leaflets are great too!).

Remember:
• Introduce yourself, be open and honest.
• It’s a conversation, after the first 2 mins listen more than you talk.
• People rarely change their stance in a single moment, you are planting seeds!
• If someone is looking for an argument just step back and “agree to disagree” – there are plenty of other people to talk to!
• For more detailed advice and some answers to the difficult questions have a look at How to Talk Climate at Rebellion and Responses to Hostile Encounters.

Starting Conversations

Some examples of open questions:
• What worries do you have about climate breakdown?
• How do you feel about the future of our food security?
• How well do you think Britain is prepared for the effects of Climate Breakdown?
• Why do you think our government has spent millions on oil and gas bailouts?

Bring the conversation to the fact that our government is negligent by not fulfilling its duty to the people. And listen to the answers, really listen.

Introduce the Demands and Citizen’s Assemblies – wouldn’t it be great to hear what people actually want? Mention France’s recent Citizen Assembly’s outcome, i.e. wanting to make Ecocide a crime under national and international law.

If conversation moves to solutions, this is a great opportunity to invite them to a Community Assembly – we are trying to start the direct democracy process off in our local area! If people have experience of what real democracy looks and feels like, the closer we come to creating popular support for our 3rd demand.

Small Asks

At the end of each meaningful interaction ask people to do one thing to help (judge the right scale for the individual you’ve just spoken to) here are some examples:
• Sign up on Extinctionrebellion.uk – Paper forms get lost, takes time to input and isn’t the most secure!
• Monthly Donation to help us.
• Bring some care packets the next day! With Food, tea or blankets!
• Come to the Community Assembly to have your voice heard.
• Check out your Local Group, here is their email address.
• Come join us on site!

On-the-Ground Signposting & Recruiting

Don’t be afraid to recruit people on site!
People will often come along to check out a Rebellion site if they are passing by, or if they are in a Local Group but haven’t taken a role and just want to help out. We don’t turn people away! Make sure they don’t move into arrestable positions without having done an NVDA training, but don’t hesitate to give them something to do. The best thing you can possibly do is be friendly and welcoming. Be someone they want to keep talking to :)

• Have they signed up on Extinctionrebellion.uk?
• Point them towards the Volunteer Website at Volunteer.Extinctionrebellion.uk or introduce them to a working group on site.
• Make sure to have a list of things people can do to help out that require minimal instruction!

For Example:

  1. Flyers – handing out or flyposting
  2. Sustenance – give out tea & snacks on site
  3. Talking to the Public – have 10 min trainings ready so they can learn and practice!

Street Outreach Skills Training

Handy tips & tricks (see handout below) and how to use 'ALLESHA' for effective street outreach:

Street Outreach Skills HANDOUT with further linked resources

Recording of the training

Sign-up Resources

This page - Local Group Sign-ups - will give you a link to a folder which contains QR Codes and downloadable pager sign-up forms - it also has useful info about Action Network - a way for Local Groups to have an email contact list - there's excellent training on how to use Action Network which is also linked on the page.

Please Note: when you open the folder of QR Codes and paper sign-up forms, scroll down to the bottom for the forms and download from there.

Organising Takes Support!

Thank you all so much for reading this.

Extinction Rebellion relies on people like you to keep up the fight and the hope is you choose to become involved with XR in whatever way you can.

We have lots of roles and if you haven't yet found your place in XR, we’ll find one that allows you to make the best contribution - check out the Volunteer website for the roles currently being advertised or you can create an account and add your skills, experience and amount of hours you can volunteer so groups can contact you.

We do have one more thing we’d like to ask you. XR is funded entirely by generosity, and without you all we couldn't do our work.

As you can imagine trying to save the planet is pretty costly. Fossil fuel companies and polluters have their claws deep into government and are spending millions lobbying politicians to fight legislation that will impact their profits. Basically, they want to make sure it stays business as usual. We can't let this happen, so we're asking for your help.

We want you to become an XR regular giver. They are the most important givers as you allow us to make plans and act in ways that are most effective. We're asking for just £5 a week, but it makes such a difference, if you can give a little more even better or you can choose a donation amount that works for you.

All you have to do is either select the link here or scan the QR code below, and it'll take you to the page where you can become a regular giver. You can give for as long as you feel you can, all the details for contacting XR when you feel you've done your bit, is in the email we’ll send you and it's so appreciated. So grab your phones, give it a scan and give us the support we need to keep up the fight for the future. Thank you!

Fundraising-QR-code.png

Talking to Family and Friends

We know that personal connection is one of the most effective ways of changing people's perspective on the climate crisis, and bringing them into activism.

So speaking to our friends and families about why we do what we do can be really powerful! But it can also be really difficult.

We can feel that people don't want to hear what we have to say, or worry that people will think our actions and views are too extreme, when we know that they are completely proportionate to the scale of the crisis we face.

Thankfully, there are some really useful resources available help with this!

Resources to help you...

The climate communication charity HEARD recommends using a "can do" framing for conversations. Rather than talking about how "everything is fine", or "will be fine", nor saying "everything is ruined". Say instead that we can change/improve this, it's within our reach if try. See these slides and this guide to read more about how to change the way we talk about climate

A Gift for Conversation

A Gift for Conversation is a 'gift book', designed to help you talk about the climate crisis to people you care about. Written by an XR Rebel, it is available in paper copies via a 'pay-as-you-feel' system, and as a pdf version for free.

Rebels have given dozens of copies to their friends and families and it has triggered some brilliant conversations. It has even been given as a gift to the judge in climate activism trials!

How to speak with your family and friends about environmental issues

This short guide provides some really solid advice on the basics of talking to people about climate change and the environment. It doesn't go into the details of the issues like the book above, but covers the practise of active listening, how to keep the conversation productive and polite, and the power of the personal.

Talking about the Crisis on the Street

Part of our job as rebels is to Tell the Truth so engaging with the general public during a Rebellion is vital, and those passers by might be a bit annoyed with you/Extinction Rebellion, so be prepared!

What are your aims:

Listen to them, find out what they know, or don’t know so you can share some great facts with them.
But not too many facts, it can be overwhelming to a non-rebel.
To create an engaging, and personable conversation - they might have a stereotype of a climate activist - undo it!
Empower people to believe we the people can change history (historical examples, including BLM)
Shift any anger to you/XR to the system
Conclude the conversation with next steps - a leaflet, sign up to XR, link them to a Heading for Extinction talk, joining a Local Group…
Be confident, positive, and not the harbinger of doom!

Things to remember

Practise before you go, preferably on non-rebels, and don’t skip the difficult questions scenarios!
Every time is show time 😀
You want to have a conversion, after the first 2 minutes, you shouldn’t be talking more than 50% of the time.
Avoid blaming and shaming, and if they are critical, be super nice - we practise what we speech!
As soon as you mention climate crisis, people will either engage or walk on, be polite to those that don’t stop, and being over cheery can be received as cheeky!
Introduce yourself - open and honest. It’s very humanising and levelling to admit you’re scared and that you’re not some extremist activist.

Example openers

“Hi, I’m…………………………………………., and I’m here protesting against the climate crisis with Extinction Rebellion, do you please have a couple of minutes to chat..?”

“I don’t know if you knew but the United Nations has warned us that If we don’t cut global emissions immediately, global warming will lead to food and water shortages and mass starvation”.

“Did you know that in the last 30 years, greenhouse emissions have risen by 60% and if we don’t cut them by 2030, we won’t stay under the recommenced 1.5 degrees of global warming and I’m really scared…”

More punchy facts

Ask your Local Group for their favourite worst facts - this is also the easiest and most interesting way to gather some science wallops, and if you do it via social media, everyone can access the information. It will probably also result in numerous non-XR sources to quote, and this creates factual credibility. Here’s a few to start you off...

Developing the conversation

Your goal is to gently lead the person to asking them what they think about what the government is doing about the climate crisis. Chances are, they will think probably not much.
Then, introduce them to our Demands, and explain the Citizens Assembly, referencing that the French government just held a CA and agreed to consider making ecocide a crime (don’t forget to explain ecocide).

Top tips:

Let’s be frank, you’re probably going to have some difficult questions to answer!

Again, prepare! Practise with your LG on a zoom before you attend the rebellion, all take turns! Take a deescalation training, if you can.

  1. “Technology will save us!!”
    We have all the technology we need to become carbon neutral. What we lack is the political will and urgency to transition. Whilst some technology might be helpful, there are huge problems with this mindset. First, it encourages inaction, assuming that someone will come along and save us. Second, this does not stop the exploitation of our planets resources. Third, introducing geoengineering solutions can have huge unkown knock-on effects that we can't predict. And most importantly, relying on technology does absolutely nothing to address the reason the underlying cause of climate breakdown - 100 companies destroying the planet for profit.

  2. “You’re just being annoying, disrupting the general public”
    We wish it wasn’t necessary, but since declaring climate emergency last April, the government has done nothing to reduce emissions and we’re currently likely to hit over three degree warming, not the 1.5 that all the governments signed up to in the Paris climate Agreement

  3. “Haven't the government agreed to achieve carbon zero by 2050?”
    It’s too late, it needs to be by 2025, or global warming will cause environments and societal collapse. In November 2017, a statement, titled "World Scientists' Warning to Humanity: A Second Notice", signed by 15,364 scientists from 184 countries staying "we have unleashed a mass extinction event, the sixth in roughly 540 million years”.

  4. The classic, “What’s the point if China don’t do anything!” There are lots of responses for this one!
    We started the industrial revolution. We have a moral obligation to lead the fight against climate breakdown. China is enormous, so you can't compare total emissions. per person, UK emits 7.8 tonnes of Co2, China emits 5.6 tons. Even worse are historic emissions per capita, which put the UK 2nd, behind only Luxembourg. Most importantly a huge portion of goods are made in China, the UK's emissions do not include imported emissions, so China's emission levels are inaccurately high. Far more accurate is to compare the carbon average carbon footprint per person. In is measure we are nearly 3 times more culpable for climate breakdown than China. (11.5T vs 4.3T)

  5. “Renewables are too expensive”.
    Onshore wind and solar are now the cheapest forms of energy in over 60 countries, including the UK! And this is despite the UK government's immoral policy to cut subsidies for renewables whilst continuing to subsidize fossil fuels at a higher rate than any other EU member.

  6. “You'll leave people in fuel poverty by switching off fossil fuels”.
    There are multiple transition reports from various institutions which detail exactly how we can move away from fossil fuels. In fact, fuel poverty in the UK is a result of austerity by the government and the privatisation and lax regulations imposed by the government on the energy industry

  7. “We could all stop eating meat / driving / flying / (insert defeatist argument here) and it would make no difference”
    C-19 just showed us that we can adapt our lifestyle choices when we have to, this is an emergency and if an emergency footing is required to protect life on Earth, we can do it! That’s why we demand a Citizens Assemby.

  8. “It will damage the economy”.
    There are loads of great plans to transition to low carbon infrastructure and technology which will generate massive numbers of jobs. Whats more, the cost of not adressing climate breakdown - in infrastructure damage, health care, human life - will be many, many, many times greater than taking action.

Once you feel confident dealing with the awkward questions and people, you will positively enjoy chatting and listening with the majority of passers by who won’t be confrontational. Being prepared for the worst means you’ll be empowered to do outreach in public - at rebellion, and everywhere else!

Outreach Hubs

An Outreach Hub is a pop-up tent where you can find Extinction Rebellion (XR) info and support, meet rebels, pick up vibrant print designs and join trainings and workshops. They also serve as a place of sanctuary where you can pull up a chair and know you’ll be welcomed.

There is a illustrated Outreach Hub Guide on the Cloud explaining how to set one up and what you need.

A lot of the information and advice would also be useful when running a simple stall.

Note that in XR the word Hub can also refer to The Hub, which ties together our online communications tools and has nothing to do with Outreach Hubs.

FlyPosting

XR flyposting is putting up beautiful posters in public spaces to:

Lots of information, resources and ideas are contained in the Paint the Streets book

Doorknocking

Door Listening

Why Door-to-door Listening?

Approaching members of your local community to invite them to take part in Actions or Community Assemblies. The process of knocking on people’s doors and simply listening to what they have to say is both humbling and empowering, and if done with care and consideration, it can foster strong links across a local area, helping to initiate a local movement and/or help an existing one gain momentum.

What Do I Need to Consider?

Throughout the door-to-door listening process it is important to remember that you are approaching people’s homes/businesses/places of worship and that people may not be able to talk or may not want to. If someone does not feel like they have time to engage with you, then listen to them and respect their wishes – their home is their private space, and they are entitled to feel safe and free from hassle.

It is also important to try to avoid making assumptions: avoid judging someone on their race, gender, religion or age, and/or what their house looks like or the area in which they live. Everyone is different, knock on someone’s door with an open mind and with a willingness to connect and learn.

With door-to-door listening it is vital not to have an agenda, do not knock on the door with content that you want to peddle through as this will prevent you from being able to actively listen. Listen, genuinely listen, and let the person whose home you have knocked on guide the interaction. Do not try to equate their experiences with yours or interrupt with questions. Questions you might have will be related to your perspective and they will work to interrupt someone’s flow or make the conversation change direction.

Step by Step Guide

  1. Knock on the door. Take a step back once you have knocked so that people can open the door without feeling like their space is being invaded.
  2. If a child answers the door, do not introduce yourself, ask to speak with an adult.
  3. Introduce yourself slowly and clearly, making eye contact and avoiding making fast movements. Think about your body language – having your arms by your side and visible will make people feel more relaxed than if you have your arms crossed or your hands in your pockets. The aim is to make people feel at ease.
  4. Explain who you are, why you are there and that you are representing either your Local XR group or your Community Group – it is important to be transparent.
    1. A good introduction would be “Hello, my name is _______. I am here on behalf of ________ and I am knocking on doors to better understand the issues that matter to people and their families in the local area.”
  5. It is important to give people the option of whether or not to engage, so follow this short introduction with a question, such as “do you have some time to talk to me about the issues that matter to you?” If people do not want to engage, move on. This is their home and you are a visitor.
  6. If people want to engage with you, then actively listen to what they have to say, keeping in mind your body language throughout the process. Let them guide the interaction. Do not interrupt, argue with them or outline your opinions. If you need to take notes, then explain why you would like to and check that this is ok with those you are listening to. Ideally, however, do so after the process as this will ensure you are fully present when you are listening.
  7. Be engaged. You may wish to highlight that you have heard what they have said by nodding along or making small sounds of agreement.
  8. If someone asks you questions, engage with them, but try to ensure that you avoid stressing your opinions if it may make people feel uncomfortable about expressing theirs. If a natural point arrives at which you can ask a question, prioritise asking probing questions that seek to understand their perspective better. Do not ask prying questions about personal information – people are entitled to privacy and such questions can alienate.
  9. Thank the person for their time and for sharing their views and feelings.
  10. If you feel there has been positive engagement and a genuine connection, then before you depart you may wish to give the person more information about your Local Group or any local events happening. However, if there is no right time to do so, then leave this step out.
    1. Be prepared with leaflets and sign up sheets if they are interested but don’t push it upon them.
  11. Follow-up your door knockings - if you’ve forged a relationship with someone, you should be the one to follow it up. Keep track of where you’ve had meaningful interactions.

Top Tips:

How to use Door Listening as a Local Group:

GOOD LUCK!

You could try virtual door knocking!

  1. Log in, find ‘Directories’ on the left-hand side of the screen.
  2. Click ‘Neighbours’.
  3. Click ‘Message’ to contact individual people with your invite!

Happy knocking!

How to Host a House Meeting

What do you feel about the Climate Crisis?
And what does it mean to you to be part of Extinction Rebellion? Then, there’s how do your family, friends, neighbours and colleagues feel, too? Sometimes, it can be hard to have a conversation about all this because the science is shouting we’re heading for extinction and it can feel like the world doesn’t want to hear the truth.

How a climate conversation can bring people together.
The planet is running out of time, so by hosting a house meeting, you’re doing your rebel-best to grow the movement, especially as we countdown to Rebellion. Coronavirus has had huge impacts - from global to individual, and as rebels and Local Groups, and we acknowledge going to Rebellion is a personal choice, and we respect each other’s decisions. If you aren’t able to attend a rebellion on the street, rebel by hosting these meetings and help spread the truth.

Where?
It’s really up to you - it could be on a video platform which is accessible, or a social gathering for a small number in an open space, or even at work - host as many meetings as you can.

When?
Try multiple time variations - your friends, family and contacts are probably free at different times. And by hosting, many more people will engage with the climate crisis more deeply.

How?
How you invite people is important - don’t round robin everyone. Make it personal - preferably with a call, emails and messages are easy to ignore! Perhaps tailor your groups - pockets of friends, family groupings, and people connected by faith, background, or interests; people are probably more likely to come if they know someone else, so let them know who’s invited/coming to encourage attendance. If someone declines, ask why - there’ll be valuable learning here.

Be ambitious!
For this rebellion, aim to invite everyone you know to one, with probably no more than 6-7 per meeting to give everyone time to contribute meaningfully.

What happens in a House Meeting?
Start with introductions - not everyone may know each other, and everyone shares why they have come.
Then, choose the following method you’re most comfortable with (this takes around 15 minutes):

  1. Give a short talk - cover why you joined XR, your tipping point, the science that keeps you awake at night and the facts you wish you could forget… what you think about peaceful mass civil disobedience… the government response to the ecological emergency… why we must build back better. Be vulnerable with your fears, express your love and rage… And remember, you don’t have to learn a talk off by heart - you can have crib notes to help! Also, you can offer to share some facts links with your guests, so they can do follow-up research too, after the House Meeting.
  2. Or you can show a short film of a 15 minute talk (you can receive this link if needed, from LG coordinator)

What happens next?
After this 15 minutes or so of you chatting, it’s your guests turn to talk and share how what they’ve heard has made them feel (this part takes around 30 minutes).

Next steps for engagement, or not?
Of course, it’ll be great if any of your guests want to now join XR, but not everyone will, so acknowledge that and thank everyone for sharing their thoughts and feelings. Your goal is to make everyone feel comfortable, and also give a range of options for involvement:

For guests keen to join our next Rebellion Offer a follow up space where they can chat in more depth with you, and direct them to your Local Group meetings or actions. Connect them to NVDA and Know Your Rights trainings in your area - this is vital.
Please buddy any guests who join the movement, it will help them feel supported and stay engaged.

How to wrap up the House Meeting

Well-being suggestion to host:
Giving this personal talk, sharing the science and hosting the discussion can be draining, especially if you host more than one. Many of your Local Group rebels will hopefully also be hosting them, so please check in with each regularly to support each other.