Working America believes in connection and conversation. There is value in talking and listening to each other, to folks on the other end of the political spectrum and to our elected officials. We can create positive changes in our communities by having real, honest conversations and forming connections.

We believe that our outreach must go further than the folks who already agree with us. We must actively engage in reaching out to people with different political beliefs. Strategically, there just aren’t enough of us. To enact real change in our communities, we need more people on our side. And we will only get more divided if we refuse to engage those with differing political opinions.

You can have persuasive conversations at many different stages of a campaign: while going door to door collecting letters, doing outreach to grow your Working America Committee or even during a lobby meeting with an elected official. There is no silver bullet to convince every person to agree with your point of view. Every person and every conversation is different. However, there are best practices to have the most effective conversation possible.

Golden Rules of Persuasion

• Focus the conversation on the other person. Ask questions to figure out what the person thinks about your issue and what his or her personal stake in it is.
• Connect the person’s personal stake to your overall campaign message. For example, if you are working on protecting the Affordable Care Act and the person you are talking to is enrolled in Medicaid, you can talk about how states will lose funding for Medicaid under President Trump’s plan.
• Share your personal stake in the issue. Most folks respond more strongly to personal stories than facts and figures. Explain why you are committed to the issue.
• Keep your conversation positive. You are not going to convince every person every time, but be respectful, and make sure the person leaves the conversation with a good view of your campaign.
• Remember, you can always connect with an organizer before any persuasive conversations. Role play and review talking points—we are here to support you.