Learn the policy details

Get the Tip of the Day via email.

Effective persuasion requires great communication. We all need a strong public narrative (Stories of Self, Us, and Now) to connect with people on a values-based level. But it's also important that we're able to explain our positions on the issues clearly, and that we're on-message with our campaign narrative. Here are some suggestions for getting comfortable with the details.

• Educate yourself. Every campaign has policy sheets (or should). Take the time to really study them, and ask questions if you don't understand.
• Start with your passion. A policy portfolio can be huge, especially in elections or multi-issue groups. Start with topics that really matter to you - they'll be easier to learn because you're invested in them already.
• Educate your volunteers. Give volunteers the policy papers, highlight the most commonly asked-about issues, ask them to read through it, and follow up with questions to help them learn the material.
• Always follow up. You'll get questions you can't answer. If you don't know, say, "I don't know, but I'll get back to you." Take a good note, and make sure you follow up quickly.
• Know the talking points. It's important that you know the message of the day/week/month, too, so read the talking points your campaign sends out. Being on message isn't just nice - you're driving home the narrative people are seeing in email and social media, direct mail, and TV.

You can get a foot in the door by connecting through values-based narrative, but when you can follow up with hard facts and solid policy knowledge, you'll close the deal.

 Got a favorite story where knowing policy inside out helped you close the deal? Let us know in the comments on the blog.

Evan Sutton is Communications Director at NOI.

Photo by bagaball, via Flickr.