When you have an activity close to your heart, it would make sense you would want to share it with people you care about. When that activity is perceived as a little dangerous, sharing that activity can become a little harder. Some rafting enthusiasts shared with us their best tips to help convince someone to try rafting. Read on to find out what they suggest.
Bring Them to a Not-So-Bumpy Location
One helpful tip to try and encourage your family and friends to try water rafting is to take them to a place where it’s not so bumpy. It’s intimidating at first to get into the water in a little raft, especially if it’s your first time. There are many rivers that are calmer at certain times of the day, so it might be helpful to tell them this information to ease their nerves.
When you do participate in water rafting, you also must wear a life jacket and helmet at all times. This information can help to ease some people’s minds, as a lot of people aren’t sure how the whole process actually works.
And lastly, go to a lake for a day with your friends and family to get used to being in the water. A lot of people’s fears surrounding rafting are in the water. If you get used to being in the water, you become more comfortable with the idea of rafting.
Address Their Concerns and Reservations
Start by finding out their concerns or reservations about rafting, and see if these can be addressed ahead of time. For example, some people might be concerned about the risks involved in rafting, so you can share your positive experience and explain how thoroughly the trip is mapped out and that an experienced guide will lead the way. Whatever their hesitation, try to frame rafting as an adventure that will be fun and memorable for everyone involved.
Tell Them About the Benefits
Remind them about a previous experience out of their comfort zone that you know they benefited from. Bring them through their initial fear and how well it turned out in the end. “Remember that time you took that improv class? How it gave you more confidence in public speaking? You were even a little bit funny in that graduation show you made us all attend!”
Then tell them about how your time rafting benefited you, especially since it was intimidating at first. Relating to their feeling of discomfort due to lack of experience and expectation builds their trust in your opinion. Hearing you acknowledge and address any misgivings and explain all the good reasons why they should go for it can make for very effective persuasion.
Nick Mueller
Nick Mueller, Director of Operations of HawaiianIslands.com.
Highlight the Safety Precautions
Rafting can be a fun, challenging experience for people of all ages. However, if you’ve never been rafting, it can seem like a daunting experience. If you’re trying to talk a friend into going on a rafting trip, make sure to highlight the safety rating of the guide outfit you’ve chosen for your trip, how the rapids are rated, and most of all, the excitement of facing the challenging rapids head-on with a group of your peers. Stepping outside your comfort zone will help boost your self-esteem and will help you learn valuable information about yourself.
This is a crowdsourced article. Contributors’ statements do not necessarily reflect the opinion of this website, other people, businesses, or other contributors.
