Hi Gleb! Thought your blog post was really interesting, thanks! :) A few comments:
1) It maybe needs more precise/concrete advice. As someone trying to build up EA movements where it is practically inexistent, I found your points interesting but lacking specific ideas of what I should do to improve.
2) On a related note, jclifton333′s 3rd point relating to how to invest in our advocacy abilities really needs to be explored more. If you feel that your backgroud in “marketing, education and outreach” gave you experience and ideas on how to develop these “soft” skills, I would be interested in hearing about it :)
3) I also disagree a little on the secular preference (i.e. spending time/money resources on appealing to a secular audience). I think the focus is different but not less important in one case or the other. For instance, maybe insisting on (a) the “altruism” aspect for those rationality-inclined, and (b) the “effective” aspect for those who, through religion or personal inclination, already get the “moral obligation to be an altruist”, could yield better results than just concentrating on (a).
For point 1, telling stories, this is why I included a link to my post as a way of illustrating a concrete example of how to tell stories.
For point 2, regarding developing soft skills, I’d suggest looking into Motivational Interviewing as an effective, research-based way of engaging with people in a soft form while still pursuing advocacy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motivational_interviewing
For point 3, I hear what you’re saying and I think I’m speaking more in terms of the most return on investment if we are investing resources into outreach. Doesn’t mean that outreach to religious people should not be done, of course, it’s just less likely to yield such high returns.
Hi Gleb! Thought your blog post was really interesting, thanks! :) A few comments:
1) It maybe needs more precise/concrete advice. As someone trying to build up EA movements where it is practically inexistent, I found your points interesting but lacking specific ideas of what I should do to improve.
2) On a related note, jclifton333′s 3rd point relating to how to invest in our advocacy abilities really needs to be explored more. If you feel that your backgroud in “marketing, education and outreach” gave you experience and ideas on how to develop these “soft” skills, I would be interested in hearing about it :)
3) I also disagree a little on the secular preference (i.e. spending time/money resources on appealing to a secular audience). I think the focus is different but not less important in one case or the other. For instance, maybe insisting on (a) the “altruism” aspect for those rationality-inclined, and (b) the “effective” aspect for those who, through religion or personal inclination, already get the “moral obligation to be an altruist”, could yield better results than just concentrating on (a).
Laura, thanks for that feedback, really helpful!
For point 1, telling stories, this is why I included a link to my post as a way of illustrating a concrete example of how to tell stories.
For point 2, regarding developing soft skills, I’d suggest looking into Motivational Interviewing as an effective, research-based way of engaging with people in a soft form while still pursuing advocacy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motivational_interviewing
For point 3, I hear what you’re saying and I think I’m speaking more in terms of the most return on investment if we are investing resources into outreach. Doesn’t mean that outreach to religious people should not be done, of course, it’s just less likely to yield such high returns.