The head, heart and hands model

🎯 "Effective (climate) communication does three things. The head, heart and hands model helps you to include all three of them.

When it comes to climate change, it’s pretty clear that there’s a problem. Not just the problem of climate change itself, but a communication problem. For years, organisations have communicated about climate change. Yet, we are still not actually doing enough.

And it’s not so strange. The topic is complex, there’s not one clear solution and we keep learning new things every day. Having some clear steps or models to follow in your communication strategy can very helpful. So let’s start with the head, heart and hands model by David Orr.

David Orr’s “Head, Heart, and Hands” model reminds us that communicating climate effectively means going beyond charts and data. It’s about speaking to the whole human being.

🧠 The Head – We must inform with clarity. People need to understand the challenge before they can face it. They need to be able to engage intellectually, backed by science.

❤️ The Heart – We must connect emotionally. It’s about telling stories, that people can relate to. Climate change is about our children, our homes, and the places we love. It’s not far away, you can see it all around you.

👐 The Hands – People need to feel empowered. Show them what they can do—locally, collectively, daily. Show them the ripple effect of their big, but also small actions.

When you read this, it might seem very obvious. But too often, we naturally lean into one part of this model. Or part of the message gets lost due to all the tweaking during feedback processes, while developing communication strategies. So are you developing a new communications strategy or content? Make sure you check whether your speaking to head, heart AND hands.