HAVING EFFECTIVE CONVERSATIONS

Connecting to and Persuading Voters

Effective Persuasion Conversations:
How do we effectively converse with undecided or unsure voters?

Engage people on:

  • The issues they care about
  • The work Democrats are doing to improve our everyday lives
  • Why YOU are motivated to get involved

Five Step Framework for Good Conversations:

  1. Listen
  1. Listen for shared values and common emotions.
  2. You don’t need to agree 100%; you just need to listen.
  3. Ask yourself: What is this person thinking? What is this person feeling? Where are these thoughts/feelings coming from?
  4. You should be listening more than you talk!
  1. Acknowledge
  1. Once you’ve heard what someone cares about, you want to acknowledge their concerns by repeating back what they’ve said and confirming that you understand what they meant.
  1. Relate
  1. Briefly, relate your own experiences to the person you’re talking with.
  2. Find a shared value. A great way to start this is by saying, “As someone who also cares about…”.
  3. But remember the majority of talking should come from the person you’re speaking with.
  1. Connect
  1. After connecting yourself and the speaker, connect what they shared back to the issues/policies Democrats care about.
  2. “As someone who also cares about _____________, this is why I’m taking action…”
  1. Ask
  1. Personalize the call to action:
  1. “Will you consider Voting for Democrats in [State]?
  1. You do not need to convince this person to agree with you. It’s your role to build a positive connection  and put our work on their radar.

Responding to Concerns they share:

  • AFFIRM, AFFIRM AFFIRM: More than anything, our voters want to feel heard. Do not discourage or invalidate their concerns.

When to Pivot:

  • Oftentime, conversations will get off track. Make sure you know when to pivot back and bring it back to the issue at hand.

CREATING OUR PERSONAL STORIES:

What is a story of self?

We all have stories that have shaped who we are, why we believe what we believe, and why we’re willing to act for progressive change. Telling these stories can have a huge impact on building relationships and mobilizing others to act.

Why should we tell our story?

Stories are effective at galvanizing action and support for a candidate, policy, ballot initiative, etc. When we hear a good story it becomes clear why sharing stories is so important.

Telling our story provides:

  •  An opportunity for connection
  • Explains our values and motivations
  • Allows other to get to know us
  • Creates a sense of urgency around a political or social issue

Three elements of a story:

  1. Story of Self - Communicates value and motivation
  2. Story of us - communicates the value of others in this fight and those yet to join
  3. Story of now - communicates urgency explaining why taking action now is so important

Example of a personal story

In her story, she discussed:

  1. Story of Self: Life experience with economic struggle, the emotional effect it had on her and her family
  2. Story of Us: The way other people in the community go through the same thing time and time again
  3. Story of Now: How electing Democrats and the policy of minimum wage can change the lives of families

Framework of a personal story

 - Moment -  A  moment  that caused you to stop and reflect – where you were forced to consider the values you wanted to follow.

 -  Value(s) - Value(s) that became clear in response to the moment.

 -  Outcome - You decided to get involved in Democratic Organizing.

 -  Ask - The ask is the invitation to your audience to act on a shared value in a specific, concrete, and urgent way. For example, canvassing, phone banking etc.

https://kamalaharris.com/meet-kamala-harris/