One-to-one engagement
Engaging in effective ways
If we get the chance to engage with our target
audience on a one-to-one or small group basis,
we have the opportunity to personalise that
encounter in a way that we can’t do with large
groups, or unknown populations (such as with
a large campaign or social media account). The
‘transtheoretical model of behaviour change’ (see
p21) suggests that we are able to achieve behaviour
change if we successfully navigate our way through
five stages¹. If we interact with people directly, we
have a better chance of finding out what stage of
change they are at, and tailoring what we say to
trying to help them move from that stage to the
next.
It may be rare to find opportunities for one-to-one
engagement (for reasons relating to budgets and
capacity) but when these opportunities do present, it’s
worth asking a few questions to find out what ‘stage’
a particular individual is at. That way, you can give
targeted information and avoid approaches that might
disengage the individual. Someone who uses their
phone while driving may do so for a number of reasons.
For example they;
•
•
•
•
•
•
Giving a ‘phone addict’ some statistics on distraction is
unlikely to work, just as giving someone who disputes
the dangerousness of the activity a signal-blocking
pouch would be useless (they won’t use it). There’s no
point discussing the penalties for use with someone
who thinks they won’t be caught. But if we give some
information about ‘use’ to someone who was oblivious,
or a pouch to someone who admits they can’t ignore
their phone beeping, or explain about third party
reporting to someone who points out a lack of police
presence. we might just progress them a little further
along their journey to behaviour change.
One-to-one opportunities might present:
• At the roadside
• When asked questions during a larger group
encounter
• When responding to a social media comment
• During publicity and promotion work
may be ignorant of the law
may be aware, but not consider what they do to
be ‘use’
may think that they are too competent to crash
may think they will never get caught
may be keen to change but unable to resist pressure
may be ‘phone addicts’ and not realise they are
doing it
1
Kowalski, K., Jeznach, A. and Tuokko, H.A., 2014. Stages of driving behavior change within the transtheoretical model (TM). Journal of safety research, 50,
pp.17-25.
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