Three Ways to Influence Elected Leaders
Elected leaders, naturally, play a critical role in advancing or passing a piece of legislation, elevating an issue, or gathering support from other leaders in the community. Through their position they can both help move a bill forward, shine light on an issue, or gather broad community support to help achieve your goals.
There are a wide range of ways to influence elected officials. Below, we’ll outline how to support your organization’s goals by effectively communicating with elected officials.
Get personal
While working to directly communicate with specific politicians is important, make sure your strategy also accounts for the people around your selected officials. That includes each leader’s staff, confidants, and other members of their social circles.
Politicians often have every moment of their day scheduled for them. From meetings to travel to events to the actual work of legislating, it’s very easy for them to be difficult to reach. Often, one of the fastest ways to get a politician’s attention is through those closest to them, such as top advisors, close friends, etc.
You could do direct outreach to these individuals or you could target them much the same way you might attempt to reach the elected official – through ads, meetings, social media, etc. If someone close to the official is hearing from you via direct communication and they are getting the message on social media and in paid ads, they are more likely to start to listen.
Oftentimes, a close friend, confidant, or advisor is a more convincing messenger than any lobbyist, targeted research, or leveraged expertise. When political leaders get your message via official channels, hear it on the news, and also receive pressure from their own circle, they are far more likely to be moved.
Meet them where they are
Next, make sure that your request isn’t too far outside of your target’s position on the issue. If they strongly oppose it, asking them to flip the other way entirely not only won’t work, but they might also find the request to be unreasonable and could disregard you entirely.
Instead, find a smaller ask to make first or simply ask them to adopt a less visible profile on the issue rather than be a strong voice in opposition. Depending on the level of support – or lack of support – assess how far you can go in your effort to persuade.
If you know where an elected official stands on one issue, use that as a starting point into a dialogue, but don’t jump to the heart of the matter without a bit of conversation. Demanding they advocate for your issue or vote for your legislation before you’ve done the work to move them typically doesn’t end well. They may write you off as someone who doesn’t know their history or background as a lawmaker and isn’t willing to do the work to learn.
Instead, meet them where they are and work to bring them along or – at the very least – ensure they won’t be an impediment to your efforts. Ask them what, if anything, would influence them to change their mind or take a different approach. Empathize rather than force. Perhaps they won’t support your issue, but they may connect you with someone or offer an alternative solution so that you both achieve your goals.
Make it easy
Politicians are extremely busy and so are their staff members. The easier you can make the action you want them to take the better and the more likely they are to take it. Ensure they have every piece of data, every statistic and talking point they need. Work to create a media environment that makes it easy for them to say yes or no, depending on your goal.
The path of least resistance will often be the one chosen, which is why you should work to make that your path to victory. Create the circumstances that allow them to walk down this path and you can achieve your desired outcome.
For example, if you are working to get support for a ballot initiative, work to frame the issue as a no-brainer in the press. Make abundantly clear how beneficial the initiative is for small business owners and working families — this will significantly limit the saliency of opposing talking points and anyone standing as an impediment will likely be forced to explain their position. You can do this by relying on small business owners and working families to serve as spokespeople in support of your issue. That way, when an elected official is asked why they don’t support it, they’ll have to answer to the working mother, not you.
This kind of framework makes it far more likely that elected leaders – or their staff – will feel inclined to walk down your path. Often, as they face a tight decision timeline, the path of least resistance will win.
Conclusion
The best way to influence an elected official is through an individual who is very close to them, as this trusted source can often be the most effective messenger. Make sure your strategy meets each politician where they are rather than attempting to drastically change their position, and finally, in order to ensure your piece of legislation passes or your issue advances, make it an easy position for an elected official or their staff to adopt.
