Talking to Colleagues, Customers, Clients, and Neighbours about Dementia Supportive Communities
The actions, attitudes, and approaches you’ve learned throughout this course can make a real difference in the daily lives of people living with dementia, and they often benefit many others as well. However, we can help amplify that message by ensuring that as many people as possible understand dementia, feel confident offering support, and know where to turn for with questions.
Sharing the message about Dementia Supportive Communities doesn’t mean delivering a formal presentation. In fact, sharing something personal, relatable, and grounded in real experience, helps people connect.
In the upcoming activity, you’ll have a chance to craft your own personal approach to sharing the DSC message in a way that is meaningful and impactful. The tips below provide some ideas and examples to help you complete the activity and help you start constructive conversations with confidence!
Tips for Constructive Conversations.
- Describe what you see in your own words
- Focus on everyday moments
Example:
“To me, a Dementia Supportive Community makes everyone feel welcome: people are friendly, curious, and ready to take an extra step to support each other”
- Keep stories short and relatable
- Focus on the impact, not the details
- It’s okay if the story isn’t “perfect”
- Be mindful of privacy and consent when sharing stories, and consider who the story belongs to and the dignity of the people involved (e.g., anonymizing details or asking permission).
Example:
“I saw how much calmer someone became when they were given a bit more time and reassurance.”
- Share what surprised or stuck with you
- Emphasize how your attitude or behaviour has changed as a result
Example:
“Thinking about dementia in terms of the different thinking ‘lines’ really helped me to understand think in terms of emotion when communicating with someone living with dementia”.
- How dementia supportive approaches support organizational goals such as safety, accessibility, customer experience, and staff confidence
- Practical changes or learnings that have already shown positive impact, even in small ways
Example:
“We turned the music off between 9 and 11 and a few customers have already mentioned how much better it is for them and started coming in more frequently.”
- Share brief examples that normalize support and reduce stigma
- Share your experiences with the training and other resources you’ve found useful
- Mention supports in a matter-of-fact, welcoming way that makes help feel accessible, not urgent or clinical
Example:
“I’ve started having longer conversations with regular customers when it’s quieter – I’ve learned so many interesting things and made some new friends. I’ve noticed they seem to feel more comfortable coming in now – even on a bad day. I wouldn’t have though to do that before I took the training.”
- Connect Dementia Supportive actions to things people already do, like helping a neighbour or being patient in public spaces
- Invite curiosity or participation in small, accessible ways
- Encourage curiosity and empathy rather than “getting it right”
Example:
“Lot’s of the things we already do are Dementia Supportive – like clearing snow from the neighbour’s sidewalk, being friendly and patient with people – and they make a huge difference. If you’d like to learn more, I’d be happy to talk further or show you where to go to find some great information.”
- Mention supports and resources naturally
- Make resources easily available and accessible (e.g. referral cards, QR codes/links to AS AB/NT training/social media)
- Use invitational language
- Let people choose how they want to engage
Examples:
“If you ever need it, the Alzheimer Society has really helpful resources – here is a link to their webpage”
“I’m happy to share more if you’re interested.”