Activism Quicktip: Overselling

Overselling: One issue I have noticed in the liberty movement and politicking in general is the temptation to oversell. If you have convinced someone to support Candidate X for instance by explaining his or her economics stances, then it is usually a good idea to “stop selling”. That same person may not agree with their ideas on the drug war. That does not mean to lie to the person or to withhold information, but you must be diplomatic, sometimes all you can do is plant the seed. Introducing voters to the ideas of liberty one step at a time is usually much more effective than overwhelming them with too much information all at once.

Another thing to watch out for is when someone is a lost cause, especially when going door to door and phone banking. I have witnessed volunteers getting into long arguments with people who they will never convince to support their candidate before Election Day. That is simply not effective when time is short. In campaigns you will deal with thousands of voters, you have to know when to move on.

Article contributed by Benjamin Rogers of IndianaPolitico