Theme 4 - Communication

How do I communicate to assist change?

As a community leader you may find yourself either initiating change or trying to deal with the impact of change brought about by someone else. While most people welcome change, many may feel threatened by change and respond negatively. This may lead to negativity, resistance or anger.

While you can assist change, remember that not all people accept change at the same pace, and that some people may be disadvantaged by the change. Communication styles should be open, reflexive and non-judgmental in cases of resistance to change. Listening to the view-point of others and respecting how they are feeling will help to prevent an escalation of opinion differences into outright conflict.

Three important strategies for coping with negative reactions to change from community members are:

• Using the benefits of influence to counter negativity
• Using problem solving steps to counter resistance
• Utilising strategies for dealing with community conflict to counter anger