Sir Dave, saviour of the universe
“Sir Dave, Gentle Voice
Calmly Explaining the Fact
That we’re all doomed”
There, that’s my David Attenborough haiku. I’m sorry to put you through it.
You see, I saw the great man speak last night at the Brighton Festival. Frankly, I would happily listen to him read the instructions to a flat-pack wardrobe.
But among the anecdotes about being dressed as a butler by his brother Richard, was the dark tale of humanity’s catastrophic influence on the environment. Which, coming from The Greatest Living Briton, carries some weight.
It got me thinking though – does the message sink in better because of his patient, logical, soothing manner? Is he a master of persuasion?
He’s always done it with his documentaries, of course. Smuggled in horrific ideas about life’s savagery with a benevolent smile. One moment you’re watching two nuzzling monogamous albatrosses (albatrii?) and before you know it a troop of chimpanzees are tearing a live macaque to pieces.
And last night, when it came time for the audience questions, Attenborough kept his cool. (I tried to ask a question, but the queues were too long. Plus, I think I might have squealed and fainted like an 11-year-old girl at a Hannah Montana gig.)
Dave responded calmly when the obligatory “yeah, well if evolution’s so right then how come…” question cropped up. He didn’t belittle the asker, he didn’t mock. He didn’t make them defensive by dismissing their views. He then did the same thing when explaining the effects of climate change.
That’s just it. He’s not patronising, he’s not bombastic. He only speaks when he’s got something to say, and can back it up. Have I exposed my fawning Attenborough love enough yet?
The gentle art of nudging
See, I’d argue that Sir Dave had a remarkable way of nudging ideas into people’s lives. After all, he has been watched by over 500 million people worldwide.
And that’s important. Because we’re not just involved in a war against CO2. We’re in a marketing war. Ideas that spread, win. His ideas, and his way of presenting them, won. But maybe it’s harder today to be so dignified and still get heard?
So let me ask you something. Do you respond better to tub-thumping from hardcore activists? Or do you prefer a subtler approach? What will help change behaviour fastest?
Or should everything be delivered in haiku?
“Sir Dave, you tell ‘em!
Washed down with mugs of honey,
Facts are tasty gits”
