Maybe you're old enough to remember Cool Hand Luke, if not, check it out on Hulu.

Paul Newman as the recalcitrant prisoner is a pretty good metaphor for the general public when heavy handed policies are set in place to restrict water use: the harder they're pushed,the more they resist.

Unfortunately, proponents of water conservation and efficiency frequently believe they've done their jobs -- a declaration was made and the public should have listened. What they really need to do is a little self-examination about how (and why) they are communicating.

Failure of the public to listen, and subsequently act, more often than not is the fault of the communicator. Messages with no relevance do not resonate. Messages that do not resonate are never perceived as important. For example, water conservation lines I've seen used:

* Wasting Water is a Crime

* Water Efficiency is Everyone's Responsibility

* Turn it Off. Save the Planet

Ho-hum. No attitudes adjusted here.

People will only respond to messages that they believe are important to them. And once they take that first step towards a new behavior, they look at others' behaviors to either mimic -- or even to change.

Don't think that even a small change in behavior makes us look at the world differently? Think about the last time you bought a car. Even though you may have noticed a particular make, you didn't really see how many were on the road until you bought one. (Be honest. It happens to us all.) That's because our perception of relevance changed -- this make and model is now relevant to me and I belong to a certain community of like minded people. Remember the first Prius buyers?

Here are five tips on how to better communicate to adjust attitudes:

* Make your message relevant (why is saving water really important to the water-user; how does it benefit him or her directly?)

* Think in terms of behavior exchange -- what good behavior, and it's coinciding benefit, can be exchanged for a less-desired one?

* Use collective terms (us, you, we). Me, by myself, cannot save enough water to solve shortages. Together, we can.

* Be positive in your messages. People really don't like being told what to do. Being told suggests that current behavior is bad. And no one wants to be considered bad.

* Show the benefits, just don't tell them. In marketing, we say if you have to say something is quality, then it's not. Quality of benefit should be demonstrated in an understandable way.

Want to know more? Contact me at jhoffman@bluewateroutreach.com or post a question. Comments and your thoughts are always welcome.