Being well informed

Eventually vegans need grounding in matters of ethics, nutrition and environment. If vegans can read up on this, we’re more likely to be able to speak intelligently about animal rights. However, let’s not kid ourselves, we have a difficult position to hold because we are bound to deliver threatening ideas that seem improbable to say the least (“What, no more animal products at all?”). So, this is all the more reason why we need to appear well informed and approachable.
This is a complicated subject which can easily tie us up in knots. If we aren’t sure of what we’re saying it makes us defensive. If we get rattled it’s because we’re trying to avoid looking foolish? And so vegans, who are unable to defend their position or answer a simple enquiry, have got to be able to deal with being put on the spot - it’s not easy to admit that we don’t know something which we’re expected to know. But just by admitting that, we earn credibility for being honest. There’s no fooling anyone out there. If we don’t know something or we get something wrong, and then fall back on emotional and subjective replies, we lose credibility. Because we don’t want to let the side down or because, personally, we don’t want to appear vulnerable to criticism, we’re likely to use moral confrontation. Certainly the cruelty angle is the strongest suit to play but we should hold back on it if we can, just as we would by holding back our trump cards. It is after all so confronting, especially if we attack people with such slogans as ‘meat is murder’. It is strategically better to use slogans only in the last resort.
Whatever we feel inside, there’s no reason for it to show through, even if we’re talking with red necked, vegan-hating carnivores. Whatever we feel inside, about the person we’re with, if we can maintain a neutral exterior and listen without reacting, and keep our talk calm, we’ll get the respect and the go-ahead to speak more fully. And then, once we’re allowed to voice our opinion, we have a better chance to reach people.