Be a good listener
When talking to an unvaccinated friend or family member, is it’s not your job to change their mind; just try to understand their reasoning behind it.
Don’t worry about trying to be persuasive
Lead with kindness
When people are treated with empathy and respect, their defenses lower, allowing you to connect on a human level. Once that happens, they’ll be more open to hearing about your vaccination experience.
Share your story
If that opportunity presents itself, acknowledge your own initial concerns about the vaccines and explain how you decided that getting vaccinated was the right thing for you and your community.
Volunteer to help
If they express specific concerns, offer to help them gather information from sources you trust to help them. Our Vaccine Fears section is a great resource to address people’s most common questions.
Think Big Picture
Don’t view this as a single conversation. Instead, it could be the beginning of an ongoing dialogue, the same way you’d talk more than once about any important issue affecting your life.
Rarely do any we change our minds in an instant; rather, it happens gradually, then suddenly.
Remember, you don’t know who else they’re talking with, what new information they’re gathering, or – sadly – who among their unvaccinated friends may be suffering dire health consequences.
Just as your own thoughts and opinions grow and change, so will theirs, even if they seem strongly dug in today.