It’s not about convincing friends and neighbors to get vaccinated. It’s about equipping every person with solid information to make an informed decision about vaccination for themselves and their families.
Empathy and understanding are fundamental to productive discussions between people with opposing views—especially between relatives and friends, who are often the most trusted sources for information and advice about the COVID-19 vaccines. Unfortunately, these conversations have become increasingly divisive, polarized and difficult.
With a significant percentage of eligible young adults still hesitant about vaccination, it’s critical for young adults to reach out and initiate these one-on-one conversations. If your organization is sharing resources to encourage and facilitate these conversations—or if you just have young people in your life who could use the help—here are the best practices shared in this new conversation guide from the Ad Council.
(The guide also shares some of the most common reasons for hesitancy among young adults to help them prepare for the discussion, including questions about fertility, potential risk and whether the vaccine is really necessary for the young and healthy, and directs them to GetVaccineAnswers.org for accurate answers to those questions.)
DO
Listen.
Understand their concerns and reservations without dismissing or judging.
Lead with empathy.
Treat their questions and concern with respect. Try not to convince anyone that they shouldn’t feel the way they do.
Set the right tone—be patient, honest and open.
Tell them when they’ve made a good point and share how you can relate. Ask them to do the same. Stay open and honest about what you know and what you don’t know.
Share your own personal experience and explain what went into your decision making.
Which facts helped you make the decision to get vaccinated? What personal conversations have you had with medical professionals that relate to their safety and efficacy concerns?
Remind them that there is no perfect option but that the risk of getting COVID-19 outweighs the risks of rare side effects from getting vaccinated.
Share why you are having this conversation with them.
Remind them how much you care for them and their health, and explain why you are concerned about their decision to not get vaccinated.
Encourage them to stay open and continue discussing.
Acknowledge that the decision is theirs and they should really do their research and talk to their doctor. Offer to help and support them in their decision making or to find more information that may better address their concerns.
DON’T
Make assumptions.
Do not assume that everyone’s reasons for not getting vaccinated are the same, that they are anti-vaccines and/or that they haven’t actually thought anything through.
Blame, belittle or villainize.
Accusing anyone of not caring or doing their part will not help them want to learn more or be open. There is a lot of misinformation about COVID-19 and the vaccines, and it is helpful to address the misinformation rather than dismiss the argument.
Dismiss their concern with your own confidence.
Saying things like “the science is clear” will not make them feel like you understand their concerns. If they sense that you are trying to control them by using facts and information they don’t agree with, they will stop trusting you.
Overpromise.
Trying to convince someone that vaccines will make everything better or “normal” is not believable, and will come off as over-promising.
Take their decision personally.
It’s not about convincing friends and neighbors to get vaccinated. It’s about equipping every person with solid information to make an informed decision about vaccination for themselves and their families.