45. From Problems to Possibilities: Dickon Bonvik-Stone on value-based communication and how it helped reframe the degrowth conversation
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Episode show notes
There's so much research that could genuinely make the world better — healthier communities, smarter policy, a more sustainable planet. And yet, when it comes to getting people to actually listen and act on that research, we often default to explaining harder or criticising current practices. Neither of which tend to work. Dickon Bonvik-Stone joins us to share how the NØKO team found success taking a radically different approach, and how we can use the AIM framework to bring hope to our own research communications.
Dickon is a strategic communications specialist focusing on climate and social change. He spent 15 years in marketing and digital media before retraining with advanced degrees in sustainability and social change — and committing to bridging the gap between marketing expertise and the social change space. He led the communications module of UNCC Learn's Becoming a Climate Champion learning pathway, distributed to more than 1 million youth climate advocates, and created the foundational climate communications e-learning course for the Creatives for Climate community — a network of more than 50,000 marketing and advertising professionals committed to using their skills for good. He also hosts the Communicating Climate Change podcast, where he interviews experts at the intersection of communication and climate action.
In this episode, Dickon unpacks how he and the NØKO team took a different approach to communicating about degrowth economics — leading with aspiration instead of argument — and sold out a major event that brought activists, economists, public servants, and business leaders into the same room. He walks us through the AIM framework (Audience, Intent, Message) and makes a compelling case for why the most important step in any communication effort is the one most people skip.
"If you lead with the things that the changes you're promoting can actually create in society, the opportunity that they provide, people are able to follow a lot more easily." — Dickon Bonvik-Stone
This episode is essential listening for anyone who wants their communications to actually shift behaviour, not just inform.
Our conversation covers:
Why "more information" rarely leads to behaviour change — and what to do instead
The AIM framework: Audience, Intent, Message — and why message comes last
Building audience personas based on values and psychographics, not just demographics
Finding common values across very different audience segments
How the NØKO team attracted activists, economists, public servants, and business leaders to the same event
Hope-based communications: shifting from what you're against to what you're for
Why "Degrowth. It's not what you think." is a masterclass in what not to do
Show, don't tell — using aspirational imagery and video to set the tone before a single slide is shown
The tension between domain experts wanting technical accuracy and communicators pushing for clarity
Testing messages instead of guessing — and building internal support for doing so
Why working with communicators and creatives is an investment, not a luxury
Find Dickon online:
Communicating Climate Change podcast — https://communicatingclimatechange.com
Things mentioned:
Hope-based communications with Thomas Coombes (Communicating Climate Change episode)
Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard — Chip and Dan Heath
Less Is More: How Degrowth Will Save the World — Jason Hickel
Episode 32: Brendon Bosworth on finding the right training approach for your team
Episode 35: Professor John C. Besley on strategic science communication
Practical tips:
Start with audience, not message:
One of the most common mistakes in research communication is starting with what you want to say. The AIM framework (Audience, Intent, Message) flips this — begin by understanding who you're trying to reach, then define what you want them to do, and only then craft the message. When you follow this order, the messaging practically writes itself.
"Oftentimes when people have something they want to broadcast, some change they want to initiate, some problem they want to highlight — they start there. What do I want to say? Message. But here, we see that's already the final thing. There are steps that come first." — Dickon Bonvik-Stone
Go beyond demographics — understand what your audiences value:
Knowing that your audience is aged 25–55 and lives in a certain city tells you where to reach them. But it doesn't tell you what to say. The real insight comes from understanding their values, beliefs, worries, and what they consider relevant to their lives. This is what allows you to craft messaging that actually resonates rather than bounces off.
"Values, beliefs, drivers — these things have so much to say about what we pay attention to, what we consider relevant for us, what we may or may not act on." — Dickon Bonvik-Stone
Look for common values across audience segments:
If you need to engage multiple audiences — and most research organisations do — look for the values that run through all your segments. Messaging that energises one group but actively repels another isn't a strategy. The NØKO team found that leading with shared aspirations (more time, more nature, more community) could speak to activists, economists, public servants, and business leaders simultaneously.
"If we communicate in one way, we might engage some of them but push others away. So what's a way that we can communicate that actually can engage as many of them as possible? Well, probably a value-based communication that speaks to an underlying value that is common to all of those audiences." — Dickon Bonvik-Stone
Keep personas simple and actually use them:
Personas don't need to be exhaustive research documents. They're semi-fictional representations built on best guesses, assumptions, and common denominators. Give each persona a name and a short story so the whole team can build a shorthand — then use them as a mirror to check your communications against. The test is simple: would Economics Elsa actually respond to this?
"You hold your work up to a mirror that you've already created in the past to see, is this likely to be effective or is it not?" — Dickon Bonvik-Stone
Define an audience-specific behavioural goal:
"Raise awareness" isn't a goal — it's a vague hope. Before crafting any message, get concrete about what you want each audience segment to actually do. Come to this event? Change a purchasing decision? Support a policy position? Having a clear intent shapes everything that follows and stops you investing in broadcast that doesn't achieve anything.
"Intent is about what you want to achieve so that you actually have an idea about what you want that audience to do or come away with… If we went straight in with the message, we might be saying something that actually doesn't lead to an action or doesn't lead to some kind of conclusion." — Dickon Bonvik-Stone
Lead with what you're for, not what you're against:
Drawing on Thomas Coombs' hope-based communications approach, Dickon argues that advocacy and research communication too often defaults to critique, guilt, and prescription. The NØKO team flipped this — instead of "the current economic system is failing us," they led with "what if you could have more time? More nature? More community?" This shift from problems to possibilities put audiences in a mindset of curiosity and imagination rather than defensiveness.
"Instead of going in with this theory-heavy, blaming, maybe even guilting stance, we instead looked at our personas and said, well, what do these people all value?" — Dickon Bonvik-Stone
Show, don't tell:
The NØKO team paired their aspirational messaging with beautiful photography — people enjoying life, Norwegian nature — rather than infographics or text-heavy explainers. They also opened the seminar with a "What If" video that posed questions about possibility rather than presenting slides about problems. The principle applies broadly: if you're explaining, you're often losing. Find ways to make people feel the opportunity rather than just understand the argument.
"If you're explaining, you're losing. Meet the audience where they are, not where you want them to be." — Dickon Bonvik-Stone
Test your messages — don't just guess:
Message testing is the bread and butter of marketing communications for a reason. Even casual testing — showing a draft to a few people who resemble your target audience — can save you from costly missteps. And if you're putting money behind advertising or investing significant time in a campaign, the case for testing is even stronger.
"Going through the motion of checking can save a lot of disappointment and a lot of inefficiency and waste in the long run." — Dickon Bonvik-Stone
Clarity reduces resistance:
What looks like resistance to your message is often a lack of clarity. Jargon, assumed knowledge, and vague calls to action create barriers that stop people from engaging — even when they might otherwise be interested. The NØKO team had extensive back-and-forth between the communicator (Dickon) and the domain experts on the team to find language that was simple enough to reach a broad audience without misrepresenting the ideas.
"What looks like resistance is often a lack of clarity… By not being clear for your audience, you just create barriers for them or you fail to reduce enough of the barriers for them to then do the thing you want them to do."— Dickon Bonvik-Stone
Work with communicators and creatives — and embrace the discomfort:
Dickon describes the collaborative process between communicators and domain experts as "forging a sword" — hot, tough, sometimes uncomfortable, but ultimately producing something far stronger than either party could make alone. If you're a researcher, expect some frustration when a communicator simplifies your ideas. If you're a communicator, expect pushback when you challenge expert language. Lean into it — that's where the good stuff happens.
"I think of it like forging a sword. It's hot, it's tough, it takes a lot, you got to bang that thing out very, very hard. And then you throw it in the water and it comes out stronger than it was before." — Dickon Bonvik-Stone
You are not your audience:
One of the most fundamental — and most frequently ignored — principles in communication. Your instincts about what messaging will work are shaped by your own expertise, values, and context. Your audience doesn't share those. That's why audience research matters, why personas matter, and why testing matters. As Dickon puts it, challenging your own assumptions is a big part of the work.
"You are not your audience. That's why we do this work. Almost often we are projecting ourselves into that audience's shoes… Challenging that is a big part of that audience work." — Dickon Bonvik-Stone
Credits:
Host & Producer: Chris Pahlow
Edited by: Laura Carolina Corrigan
Music by: La Boucle and Blue Steel, courtesy of Epidemic Sound
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