@mengbers felt that informed was a relative concept and who was to decide who was informed? While I agree, there are various levels or degrees of being informed, I think most people know if they are informed enough to vote. In fact, the evening of the federal election, I was sitting in a pub waiting for the results when I overheard the people at the table next to us ask which election was going on. They didn’t know if it was federal or provincial or municipal -I think we can all agree, that is uninformed.

The point I made was that we are encouraging residents (sorry @ian_mccor) or citizens, to vote just for the sake of voting. I believe the issue is that we need to encourage people to become informed first. Once people are informed, they will naturally form an opinion and consequently be interested in making their opinion heard – after all, who doesn’t want to be heard?

But I think the issue goes even deeper than this. The issue is about, I’m sorry to use what is becoming an overused phrase, citizen engagement. I believe that a low voter turnout at the polls is an indication of a disengaged population. People put their time and energy into what interests them, into areas that concern them.  Although people say they don’t have time to get informed, what they really mean is it is too low on their priority list.

I have talked to a couple people at the County about ways we can make a concerted effort to increase citizen participation in the next municipal elections. The response I received was basically to say it isn’t an area they are overly concerned about. The average voter turnout for Strathcona County tends to be in the low to mid 30%. Apparently, this is on the high side when compared to other municipalities. And apparently, we are ok with mediocrity.

What do you think? Is an average turnout at the polls good enough? Is a satisfied, complacent and uninformed constituency ok? Should we not be encouraging people to become informed and engaged?

I got to thinking about that after the election results. The voter turn out in Strathcona County was reported at 36.6%. According to the County website, this is slightly higher than our average.

Although it is great that we had a higher than average turnout, it still means that more than 63% or 40,761 people didn’t bother or felt they had better things to do.

I am assuming there are a number of reasons why these 40,761 people didn’t vote. My bet would be that at the top of the list is a feeling of apathy or a sense that their vote doesn’t really make a difference. How can we change that misconception? Other people may not have educated themselves on the candidates and therefore felt voting didn’t make much sense. How do you prompt people to care enough to educate themselves?

As a communicator, these questions have been on my mind a lot, even before the latest election results. Influencing behaviour is always an uphill battle but not impossible.

Here are some off-the-top-of-my-head suggestions:

Remove barriers:

• On Election Day, have a special free transit routes set up within Wards that take people directly to their polling station. For example, a bus loops around Georgian Way in Glen Allen picking up voters and dropping them off at the Cultural Hall at Latter Day Saints Church. Heading back with voters who have finished voting.
• Provide phone apps with location of polling stations, hours, candidate’s websites etc.
• Extend voting hours until 9 pm. This gives people who commute into Edmonton for work extra time to get home, eat, settle the kids etc. With electronic counting, the results are available within the hour anyway.

Educate:

• Work with schools and school boards to educate students on rights and responsibilities of a citizen. Have field trips for high school students to Council meetings.
• Provide consistent and informative communication to residents on County business, policies and procedures. Encourage involvement by having Council meetings at friendlier times and places. Not always daytime and not always County Hall.

Create awareness

• All Councillors should make it a priority to be engaged and actively participating in the process with residents, even outside of election time. This means returning phone calls, showing up at meetings, educating residents on the system and encouraging their participation in the workings of their town.
• As election time comes near, a kick-butt communications plan should be put into high gear to encourage participation. This might include informational sessions in the mall, an elections hotline, buttons, posters, ambassadors, advertisements…..

How about we do some brainstorming? What other ideas do you think would work?

Unfortunately, I often have to resort to telling them they might better understand what I do if they think PR. Oh! Why didn’t you say you’re a publicist. Sigh. And then, inevitably, the word spin comes up.

Just what is spin? Wikipedia suggests it is a pejorative term signifying a heavily biased portrayal in one’s own favor of an event or situation. Hmmmm…. doesn’t that mean everyone uses spin? I mean, really, who portrays events or situations in a way that isn’t in our favour?

•  I was speeding officer? My speedometer must be out, I NEVER speed! This is so embarrassing!
   Vs. yes officer, I was speeding. I thought I could get away with it and just assumed
   you were at the local doughnut shop.
•  I’m so sorry boss, my kid has had the flu all week and although I came in early, I just wasn’t able to
   make up the lost time vs. sorry boss, I didn’t get project done on time because I was feeling lazy
   and sluggish yesterday and didn’t manage my time well.

 An alternative definition is:  Spin is the act of knowingly ignoring aspects of a story or telling outright lies in an attempt to cover up the negative. I’m more comfortable with this definition.

An ethical, professional and quality PR professional would never counsel their client to lie or ignore a potential crisis situation. They will counsel disclosure, honesty and ethical behaviour. To do otherwise is bad business. Just ask Bill “I did not have sexual relations with that woman” Clinton or Gary “go ahead and follow me” Hart

Sometimes, that may mean taking a hard line with a client. As Gini Dietrich, in her blog The Fight Against Destructive Spin explains, “public relations practitioners should be firm with clients… even if it means conflict or uncomfortable situations.”

Good PR isn’t about ignoring the negative or lying about it. I think Betsey Rogers said it best when she said:

What good PR really does is find the great stories, information, perspective and achievements within a company that are already there but haven’t been told/communicated yet – as often clients have difficulty seeing these being close to their own company, products … If there happens to be negative information that is relevant for customers and public audiences to know about, good PR people advocate and practice being proactive in communicating this information to the public.

If lies are involved or if you are afraid of the skeletons in the closet, the line has probably been crossed. If your audience found out all the facts – and they will – would they feel they had been duped? Then the line has probably been crossed.

In my line of work, policy, advocacy & communications, the lion’s share of my writing is intended to persuade. In fact, when you think about it, even when writing a simple notice about a new online survey or upcoming event, the intent is to motivate participation, so still involves a “grab”, a “call to action”.

Given that reality, here are a few things I have learned, mostly by trial and error. While not a comprehensive list by any means, and it’s pretty basic, I hope it will jog some ideas and strategies for you:

1. Get their attention early: Start with a strong statement that summarizes the case you intend to make. Some trainers say you can open with an anecdote or a quotation, but I discourage this. Those to whom you are advocating, particularly in a business setting, are busy people who much prefer the bottom line to a “song and dance”. If you think an example or quote strengthens your argument, then add in where appropriate – but don’t open with it or you’ll have lost the battle before it begins.
2. Know your audience: Having a general sense of who I am trying to persuade really helps me to craft the “ask”. This is particularly true with writing strategic policy to advocate to government. If it’s under provincial jurisdiction and I send it to the feds, I’ve just wasted my time and theirs. Additionally, since I am trying to persuade, I want to know what matters to the target audience and use language and examples that will speak to them.
3. Don’t make assumptions: This is a tough one for me. I get immersed in an issue and forget that others may not have a clue what I am talking about. I am developing a habit, now, of writing all the background details of an issue into the document, and then going back afterward to vet the fluff and make it succinct. The other thing I am learning to do is leave it for a while and then go back and reread it, trying to put myself in the shoes of the recipient. This is quickly becoming a staple part of my writing routine and I sharply notice when I skip this step.
4. Avoid accusations and guilt trips: Since I am also a politician – but don’t hold that against me – I know what it is like to be blasted. Huge tip here: vilification and aggressive presentation is counter-productive. When I am on the receiving end of advocacy, and it is delivered to me like a cannon, I cannot hear the message, even if there is a valid point in there somewhere, because I am focused on the insults. Done in written form, the most frequent response of the target audience is to simply place your letter in the “round file”. Keeping your verbiage respectful and focused on the issue is the best way of getting for message across. The same is true of guilt trips: it is an ineffective method of getting real results. The recipient wants something they can get on board with and be motivated to respond to; guilt as a motivator generates begrudging actions at best. I make a practice of carefully considering what will make my advocacy palatable to the target, asking, “What’s the carrot in this?”
5. Tell them what you want and when you want it: If I had a dollar for every piece of writing I’ve seen where the problem or issue is presented very effectively but the “ask” is missing or else stated very passively. Don’t say “please consider doing this, but if you don’t want to or it doesn’t really work for you, maybe try this instead”. Indicate clear recommendations or requests in a direct manner; it’s the recipient’s job to sort out the details and decide how to proceed. Always ask for a meeting or a response and include a deadline; if it appears to be something that can be relegated to the back burner until that sweet someday when time permits, that is exactly where it will end up.
6. Follow up: I don’t like babysitting people and they don’t like being hounded, so there is a real balance in how to accomplish good follow-up. I send ONE reminder and always frame it as “just following up”. People appreciate having their memories jogged but they don’t want to be backed into a corner.

So, those are some quick and simple tips for effective persuasive writing. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this, and what works for you. Happy writing!
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Hailing originally from Edmonton, Danielle considers herself a true Alberta girl, having lived in several Alberta communities. She came to Red Deer in 1997 and settled in Penhold in 2001. She is married and has three grown children, one teenage step-daughter and two grandchildren.