That's exactly my point, the normal mode of "participating" in democracy is usually called voting, which, individually, in most elections, does nothing. Only in aggregate does a vote matter, there's not been an election decided by a single vote in my lifetime, that I'm aware of anyway. So in reality, to effectively participate in democracy at minimum requires doing something as an individual that causes more than just your vote to happen for the candidate you want. Door knocking or calls for example.

So just saying "participating" isn't enough because many people just interpret that as voting, which is an act with no individual impact.

I'm interested in actions individuals can take that have actual impact, and are thus individually empowering. I believe liberal democracy has made nations of sleepwalkers and the result is becoming apparent in the 21st century as governments seem to act more and more against the will of the people.

But public debate, petitions, the press, demonstrations, etc. is also an important part of democracy.

But really, if you want impact, don't do it individually: join a group, a party, an NGO, etc.

As an individual you shouldn't have much impact in a democracy. The fact there are many individuals trying kind works to keep the barrier for impact high - which is good, without it no stability.