Create a winning campaign message that will captivate audiences and inspire voters.
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16. The Message Box What our opponent is saying about her/himself What we’re saying about our opponent What our opponent is saying about us What we’re saying about us
Goals for today’s session: Understand what a message is and is NOT Understand how to develop a consistent and compelling message Learn the skills required to successfully implement your campaign’s progressive message
Ask yourself some pretty deep questions about why you want to do this.
These are the questions we would tell a candidate today to ask themselves and to tell their campaign team so problems can be anticipated and properly addressed. GOOGLE YOURSELF. And if you do have some problems already, you have time to take action to counteract previous actions/mistakes. You can turn negatives into positives (e.g., if arrested, volunteer to mentor youth to help them avoid making your same mistakes).
These are two very different audiences. What you say and how you say it will vary greatly by the audience. Understanding the make up of the voting electorate in your community is key.
Bottom line piece of advice here is pay attention to the news. And be involved in the community deeply enough that you know a lot of this naturally. Start tracking key news sources, particularly weekly papers, neighborhood blogs, etc.
Good for assessing candidate name recognition, perceived strengths and weaknesses in highly competitive races. There are scientific polls that can cost tens of thousands of dollars. There are also more informal methods, like Precision Polling/Survey Monkey. Drew Westen says not to use this to pick your values, but to pick AMONG your values. You should know what you want to talk about, and polling helps you prioritize your message to match the interests of the voters. Also a great way to test messaging already developed.
Expensive. Good for highly targeted legislative races and state-wide races, but too much for a local race or non-targeted legislative race.
The message box is the most basic side by side comparison of why you should be elected instead of your opponent. Can’t complete until you have an opponent, obviously, but you should at least have the upper left hand box done! Tully Message Box, developed by Democratic Strategist Paul Tully.
So this is what we’re looking for in each of those four boxes
And here’s the illustration of how it translates.
And the structure for your stump speech as well. The more anecdotes, the better, because people remember stories. On the creative solutions, give them HOPE. Remember Harvey Milk! Remember Obama! What is the ask at the end? Vote, money, time, endorsement or all of the above! Your hope is that the person you’re talking to feels an emotional investment in you, eliciting the response “that’s my guy/gal.”
You will deliver your message in every aspect of the campaign.
So now that you’ve got a message, let’s talk about how to deliver it effectively. (Note: these could also each be translated to their own slide, and have been in previous versions of this presentation) 1. Credibility Identify what skills and experiences you would bring to office and why they make you the best choice for the job. 2. Relevant Identify the issues of concern in your local community, and craft your message to address those issues. Communicate openly about how you will address the voter’s specific concerns. 3. Contrast Tie your positives to your opponent’s negatives. 4. Truth If you lie, it will catch up to you. 5. Simple Use simple language to paint a picture. Keep your message to two or three salient points. 6. Connection People will vote for someone they feel is similar to them. 7. Repeat… Your message should permeate and inform every speech, interview, public appearance, fundraising pitch, phone script, and direct mail piece in your campaign. Voters need to hear your message twelve times before it begins to sink in. If you’re not tired of saying it, you’re not saying it often enough.
The best you can hope for is that members of the audience will be able to leave you, and repeat ONE small phrase about why they like you to someone else who hasn’t made up their mind about the election.
Interruptions in sound = ah, um, you know, Gestures like: 1. Pointing fingers = hostility 2. Locking your hands in front or in back of you = stiff. 3. Waving your hands wildly = makes people think you want THEM to finish your sentences 4. Crossing your arms in front of you = caution. 5. Self-touching gestures = tension/nervousness 6. Covering your mouth while you’re speaking = can’t hear/understand you.