“What I have to say just won’t make a difference.”
If I had a nickel for every time a beginning advocate tried to hide behind that little lie we tell ourselves! This minor piece of self-doubt leads to big losses for the causes that are most important to us.
Because it helps keep us from showing up.
Showing up is that big, important – and often overwhelming – first step. But that’s just it; it’s ONLY a first step. When we dismiss our ability to make a meaningful difference, we are actively choosing to avoid that first step – and the second, third and every other thereafter.
We stop ourselves before we ever begin!
I spend an inordinate amount of time helping advocates just take the first big step. But then what? How do we prepare for what comes next? How do we guarantee that meeting we have with a legislator leads to more than just a photo op and a handshake on the way out the door?
How we deliver our message really does matter. Unfortunately, not enough advocates are getting equipped with the “how” of doing it better. That’s one thing I INSIST on doing differently.
It’s not enough for me to hand advocates some talking points and send them on their way. It’s not fair to them, or our cause. No, I force them into that critical next step beyond simply showing up. They have to become a guide to our targets, and set those elected officials on a pathway to becoming a champion for the cause.
We do that best through storytelling.
Telling stories may not feel comfortable to you. You may not think you do it well. But I’m here to tell you that you come from a long line of storytellers. Before we had data, we had stories. Stories that conveyed complex ideas, communicated values, and passed along wisdom.
Whether it was gathered around campfires in pre-history, or now huddled around a smart phone watching a funny TikTok, we have all been surrounded by stories for generations. You are a natural born storyteller. And the people you’re trying to influence are natural born story listeners.
That’s important to keep in the front of your mind. Because you’re vying for extremely limited bandwidth. As electoral districts balloon in population, individual opportunities to engage with key representatives shrink. We see it in Congress – where offices continue to explore new ways of engaging with ever expanding constituencies. It’s a real challenge.
So when you get the time, you have to maximize the time.
Yes, you should have data. Yes, you must deliver a clear, actionable ask. And of course, you have to walk in with a people-first mindset so you can engage with them humanely. But all of that can go to waste, if there’s no meaningful hook for you to deliver.
One of the most rewarding issues I ever worked on in a congressional office was brought to us by a veterans group trying to provide dignified burials to veterans who’d passed away poor, and with no known next of kin. They didn’t have many champions – and they weren’t working on an issue that promised to deliver a lot of votes. But they brought a powerful photo with them. That photo told a story.
Sitting on a dusty basement shelf, in a non-descript funeral home, were what looked to be dented, rusty coffee cans. They were urns. Urns carrying the cremated remains of true patriots. And they didn’t meet the perception an average person has of how we should treat our veterans. That picture was worth more than a thousand words, it was worth a multi-year legislative fight to fix the problem.
One advocacy group meeting hooked a champion and, years later, real reform happened.
I wish everyone had a chance to work for a member of congress – hell, any elected official- in their lives. The day-to-day experiences, the real work they get to do is remarkable. And all of it is informed by real people, facing real problems – but there’s one other defining characteristic for all of those real people: they showed up and maximized a fleeting opportunity. They refused to let it go to waste.
Storytelling is how you can get there, too. It’s how you can get there without being a technical expert. It’s how you can get there when you’re uncomfortable with the data. It’s how you can get there if you want to stay above the politics.
Share a story. It really is how you make your point matter.
Part of the Possible 