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Canvassing Tips and Techniques
Canvass Differently To Make A Difference
Through speaking from our hearts and not from a script we can begin to canvass differently. By creating a two–way discussion with those we are canvassing, we can be more successful. By bringing others into the decision making process, we can begin changing the politics of our nation.
What we’re proposing is a different canvassing methodology. In this canvassing model, we’re not asking others to agree with us. We’re asking them for their thoughts so that we can demonstrate agreement with them, and demonstrate Senator Obama’s agreement as well. This is the biggest difference. This is the way that we’ll be able to create a successful 3 to 5 minute dialog and move things towards a mutually beneficial conclusion.
Once we understand the issues most important to the person whose front porch we’re standing on, and once we understand their frame of reference, we can then create a meaningful dialog with them. Yes, we have our goals — what we want to achieve — but the individual with whom we are speaking drives our goals.
As many of us are no doubt aware the beliefs and agreements we, as a nation hold in common are actually fairly widespread. Name the topic — health care, education, the Iraq War. Stand in any supermarket line and make a casual comment to those around you based upon the opportunities presented. You’ll almost always find a nodding agreement.
(There are, of course, exceptions to the rule. As an example, suppose someone’s overriding issue is anti–abortion. Well, there does come a time when we have to thank someone for sharing their opinion, and move on to the next house. More often than not, however, most people are concerned with basic human rights and the common good — not the denial of human rights and the common good.)
Instead of starting out with our own presentations, start by asking questions to understand the other person’s main concerns. Enter into a conversation with them. Without a two–way dialog, we’ll never be as successful as we might otherwise be.
We’ll have plenty of opportunities to make our “presentation” based upon the discussion we create with other people. Because we’re speaking from our hearts, our “presentation” won’t sound canned or contrived. At the very least, we’ll leave others with a positive impression of Barack Obama simply because we’ve exchanged ideas in a heart–to–heart discussion.
As part of our heart–felt conversation, we can create the opportunity to accomplish our goals. We’ll be able to determine if the person has heard of Barack Obama, and has thoughts regarding Barack Obama. We’ll also be able to determine how active they might like to become in taking part in the campaign and in changing the face of U.S. politics.
It is not until we’ve established a two–way dialog based upon active listening that we want to start moving towards our main points. We’ll be covering more of this in the General Canvassing Techniques section. We have also developed a few tools to help with this process of introducing Barack Obama to those we speak with.
Canvassing really isn’t that hard to do — think of it as nothing more than a 3–5 minute discussion. Yes, it can be a bit intimidating in the beginning, and we will make mistakes. But, this is all a part of the learning curve. So, we can’t worry about mistakes so long as we learn from those mistakes.
In the end, we’ll find ourselves achieving our goals as we work towards the nomination of Barack Obama, and the advancement of our communities and nation.