I've been given the impression that it is common for anarchists to believe that most people in society are not going to embrace anarchism just through discussion with anarchists or reading anarchist stuff, but rather through some kind of action.
How strong of a connection is there between these actions and anarchism?
I have no experience with any kind of action, but I have been given the impression that the leap from working class action to an adoption of revolutionary ideas is not all too obvious.
For example, a strike, or even an illegal strike, doesn't seem to immediately make its participants think about "big" ideas. A lot of times it seems like people have a very specific, practical goal. "I want my wage to be bigger". "I want it to be harder to fire people". Etc.
The impression that I have from the United States is that a lot of unions have been very alien to anarchist ideas (Cesar Chavez and Jimmy Hoffa).
I suspect that there are also sometimes other actions that easily attract some who are not interested in any societal results. Riots are a good example of this. Writing obscenities in a supermarket or taking products from the shelves without paying for them are not in themselves revolutionary actions.
What I mean is, someone who steals some food may have no intention of establishing a classless society of voluntary labour and free access to products. It could simply be that they are hungry, or they want something to sell and get money for etc.
Has anyone witnessed people becoming anarchists through participating in strikes, or perhaps some other kind of activity? Has anyone been able to kind of move them in the right direction and not just think about wages and working hours but also what society could look like?
I would not conclude the majority are incapable of achieving revolutionary consciousness through thought (rather than action), simply because a revolutionary majority has not happened yet.
Not exactly the same question but there is a good debate audio recording here
https://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/audio/can-majority-workers-develop-s...