On Wednesday we talked about The Key: the idea that people can change their minds — if they feel they haven't changed their identity while doing it.
Knowing this should make you super smart about communicating with voters. If you aren't feeling the super-smartness wash over you yet, keep reading. Here's how you use this knowledge.
• Paths
We know what we want people to feel when they hear us:
1. This person's approach is consistent with my identity.
You have to AFFIRM the other person’s identity. Even if they think Jesus will send them to hell if they vote Democrat, you have to affirm their identity. Any time you’re trying to influence people who are coming from a different political direction, your response should be of the type, “I respect that, and ____.”
Some examples:
“I respect that, and you know, I work together all the time with people who feel the same way, and we get stuff done.”
“Yeah, I grew up in the church so I absolutely understand where you’re coming from.”
“First of all, can I say I love your work with [organization X].”
“I hear that from so many people, and even though the issues are very complicated, that’s always in the back of my mind.”
Takeaway: Start by affirming the other person’s identity.
Never skip part 1! Your job is to campaign to who the person is.
And the way you do this is by creating "paths."
2. Now that I'm listening, what I'm hearing makes sense to me.
A path is a way that you can guide a person from the right toward the center, and guide a person from the center toward you. You're going to build it — they're going to follow it. If this works even 7% of the time, that's a huge shift in the electorate.
Takeaway: Create an identity-consistent "path" that leads the voter in the direction you want.
The glaring opportunity right now is with uncomfortable Republicans. We know they exist — they include every conservative pundit, and I've met them out in the wild while canvassing neighborhoods. Your job is to communicate in a way that 1. honors the fact that they see themselves as Republicans, but then 2. gives them a path to a different place.
I'm going to characterize this kind of Republican as one who always thought of his party as the more respectable one, the party for upstanding members of society who run a business, go to church, raise a family. But the "respectable" Republican Party is getting crushed. Many of them can feel it.
If I were a candidate, I would constantly be saying three kinds of things to Republicans. Maybe you can think of your own ways of saying these things.
- Path 1: The Republican Party has left you.
"I'm actually sad about what's happened to the Republican Party, and I know Republicans who are even sadder."
“The Republican Party has been taken over by something that people who’ve been Republicans for 20 or 30 years don’t recognize.”
"There was a time when the Republicans stood for decency. And now decency is out the window."
“It’s the decent Republicans who’ve all been pushed out of the party."
“A lot of Republicans are stepping back and saying, I can’t do this at this time. Maybe if things change back, but not right now. I need a break.”
“People thought this would be over someday, but it just never ends. When Donald is finally out, it’s going to be Don Jr.”
This isn't created from nothing. It has the virtue of being consonant with exactly what your target audience is actually feeling right now. And it honors the reasons that they became Republicans, while giving them support if they want to change.
I think of this as creating "an offramp." This was the most important thing Democrats needed to do after 2016, and honestly, they failed. They never developed messaging that would give uncomfortable Republicans their own psychological and tribal home, and as a result, most Republicans found ways to snap back no matter what Trump did and no matter how alienated they felt in the moment. Fortunately, some people made an offramp for themselves. (We’ll look at those in future newsletters.)
Takeaway: Create an "offramp" for uncomfortable Republicans.
- Path 2: I personally am a moderate.
"You’ll find that most conservatives actually believe in a couple of liberal things."
"Our country might be going crazy, but [this state] is not a state of cats and dogs. [This state] is a place where different people still work together."
You want people to identify as "moderate," which many people on both sides are comfortable doing. I've had very good luck asking conservatives, "Are there any liberal things you believe in?" Those who say no are beyond your reach anyway, but many people say yes. Asking this question actually shifts the listener's own frame of reference when he thinks about himself. A lot of people, in fact, think of themselves as moderates and would like respect for being that. "Moderate" is one of the strongest political identities.
- Path 3: I feel comfortable with this interaction with a Democrat.
"A lot of people who used to be Republicans are looking at the Democrats for the first time."
"People are starting to realize, Democrats have been the fiscally responsible party for most of our lifetimes."
"At this point, you’ve got to go with the party that isn't acting crazy."
"There's one party that cares about your life and your health and your family more than politics."
"There's a first time for everything."
"I want to thank all our first-time Democratic voters!"
I think of this as creating "an onramp." The key is to create and environment where hardened attitudes toward Democrats can soften and people can have positive feelings about changing.
We can be a lot more specific about messages that work with which kinds of people — and we'll do that in the next couple of weeks as we look at tribalism and Republican, Democratic and independent brains. (They're all different!)
Right now I want to emphasize one thing (which we basically started with in KEY #1).
We've talked about how much of people's thinking is emotional, not analytical. But Democrats — having become the college-educated party — think of themselves as intelligent people, so from now on we are going to use our intelligence NOT (only) to craft the best policies and convince people on the issues, BUT RATHER to craft the best appeals that work psychologically. The campaign is inside their heads, not yours.
Takeaway: The campaign is inside their heads, not yours.
Takeaway: Use your intelligence not to make an intellectual argument but to make a psychological argument.
Joshua Tanzer
jmtanzer@gmail.com
Los Angeles
Takeaway Toteboard
- KEY #1: Republicans are from Mars, Democrats are from Swarthmore. (Feb. 23):
• Democrats run an intellectual campaign to voters who are emotional creatures.
• Instead of running an intellectual campaign, we need to use our intellect to create an emotional campaign.
- KEY #2: What does the Democrats’ hat say? (Feb. 26)
• The Republicans’ philosophy fits on a hat. Democrats don’t have one.
- KEY #3: Love isn’t rational. (Feb 28):
• Politics is emotion.
• If you find yourself trying to argue intellectually, stop! Find the emotional argument.
- KEY #4: You’re an animal! (March 1):
• Our attitudes come from our identity.
• You are speaking to the voter's animal brain.
- KEY #5: Don’t take away my _____! (March 4):
• Don't get into a fight with people's way of life.
• When you talk about change, find the “win.”
- KEY #6: You are this boy and life is this marshmallow. (March 6):
• Find ways to affirm people's way of life.
• Don’t just campaign; build community.
- KEY #7: Motivated reasoning (aka “Remember this friggin guy?”) (March 8):
• People believe what they need to believe.
- KEY #8: How your head keeps from exploding (March 11):
• People experiencing cognitive dissonance want an alternative narrative to make it better.
• Do not engage with your opponent’s alternative narrative.
- KEY #9: Lalalalalalalala, I'm not listening! (March 13):
• People don't hear information that conflicts with their opinions.
• Misinformation stays in people's heads. (And trying to correct it doesn't work well.)
• Don't respond to attacks by repeating the same attacks in your own language.
- KEY #10: Maybe there’s hope for people (March 15):
• Get out ahead of charges with your own framing.
• Correct misinformation fast.
• Let people know when they're about to hear something untrue.
• Undermine the source.
• Reframe, don’t repeat.
- KEY #11: The first rule of debate club is … (March 18):
• Arguing with people doesn't change their minds.
- KEY #12: Today’s the day we talk about The Key (March 20):
• Make people feel non-threatened by your approach.
• People can change their minds if they can keep their own identity.
- KEY #13: If you steal one idea from me this year, let it be ... (March 22):
• Start by affirming the other person’s identity.
• Create an identity-consistent "path" that leads the voter in the direction you want.
• Create an "offramp" for uncomfortable Republicans.
• The campaign is inside their heads, not yours.
• Use your intelligence not to make an intellectual argument but to make a psychological argument.
Joshua, Like your stuff. I focus on climate communications. One of the questions I always ask is how can we create an identity that attracts. This is similar to what you are saying, but slightly different than acknowledging a different identity. My take here. https://skywaterearth.com/2022/08/21/the-one-question-every-climate-activist-needs-to-ask/ and here https://skywaterearth.com/2022/11/27/is-the-marlboro-man-really-the-identity-we-need-to-help-with-climate-collapse/
Thanks for what you do.
Hobie Stocking
Thanks for this Josh. Peter and I will probably walk precincts in NV and this will come in handy. Let us know if you and Jen wanna join us!