Campaign Communication: Sounding convincing

Whether you’re speaking to one or one hundred people, sounding convincing and countering hostile opinions can be a tricky business…

Making an impact

Sometimes nothing is as good at communicating your campaign messages as an impassioned and informing conversation, or a rousing speech.

But how do you get the details of your campaign across clearly, whilst inspiring people to act? Remember these important facts:

• The average attention span is 8 seconds.
• In the book Power Speak by Dorothy Leeds it has been noted that people forget 25% of what they hear within 24 hours, 50% within 48 hours, and 80% within 4 days.
• Academic research by Professor of Psychology Albert Mehrabian at the University of California, Los Angeles has found that, when people are talking about feelings and preferences: 7% of what they remember is verbal (the words you used), 38% is vocal (how you said them), and 55% is visual (how you looked and behaved).

So, you need to repeat your key message to make sure people remember it AND you need to make sure that the words you are saying match the way you are saying them, and most importantly the way you look, or your message is undermined.

Be consistent and aware of your body language and the tone of your voice. Don’t worry if the words you say aren’t perfect, if said with conviction and body language to match, they can be convincing.

Being persuasive even if you don´t know it all

It is impossible to collect all the facts on a issue! So what can you do to convince someone of the need to campaign?

• Identify a clear problem/area of need that isn´t being met, then keep coming back to it when you talk.
• Try to research one level deeper than the knowledge you think the people you are approaching will have.
• As a group, read up on an issue, then discuss all of the questions you can think of.
• Get some practice - approach people you think know about the issue and see if they can pose any questions you can´t answer. This will help you build up some set responses, and also build your confidence!
• If you can´t answer a question, don´t try to get out of it: admit that you don´t know, suggest where the answer could be found, and explain why it doesn’t weaken your point. Go back to that clear area of need.

Grey areas

In many issues there are a lot of grey areas. When you are challenged about something complex, it can be useful to refer to the precautionary principle - okay, so you can’t be 100% sure, but, if the evidence goes both ways surely it’s better to err on the side of caution?

• Restate the problem, the evidence for it, and identify any areas that would not be affected by their point. If you can do that, then, no matter what the objections people have, they will have to concede that there is a basis for some action. (For example, they can disagree with your solutions to the problems of world trade, but they can´t deny that it is currently failing to benefit millions of starving people).
• Don’t get bogged down. You can challenge their facts, but don’t get drawn into debating a side issue.
• Take an interest in their point of view, and make an effort to find out if they’re right. It’s much easier to challenge their opinion with your facts.
• Take your time - if you try to rush out a response you could miss out important parts of the argument, or make a mistake with your facts, which could further undermine you.