Winning Edge

In the final month of a campaign, you get a lot of tough questions. But how do you prepare for questions when you don't know what you'll be asked? Back in Winning Edge #24 , we looked at answering tough questions. The key is to pick a structure and keep it short - 60-90 seconds. Here are three tactics for handling a question about gas prices: Two Points Best for a strong, confident answe...

Ever wished you could put voters from your district in a room for a focus group? You actually can - but not the way you might think. Focus groups grew out of World War II-era "focused interviews" and became a staple tool because you can't talk to everyone. When you knock doors, you're doing something similar - hearing from voters one on one. The key is turning those hundreds of...

One year after his inauguration, President Ronald Reagan spoke about the year's progress ahead. He told the joke about a father with two sons - a pessimist and an optimist. When the pessimist was put in a room full of toys, he cried, sure someone would take them away. When the optimist was put in a room full of manure, he happily dug through it saying, "There's a pony in there somew...

Short campaign videos fail for the same reason most first dates do - one person talks about themselves and never thinks about it from the other person's perspective. To avoid this, think like a voter. If you scrolled a candidate's social media, what do you actually want to know? Most answers fall into three buckets: Who are you? Why are you running? What will you do? Another way to think...

If you've been doing the video challenge from the last Winning Edge , you've probably watched yourself and felt stiffer and less animated than your normal self. Chris Goor, a YouTuber who spent his career filming thousands of interviews, events, and even a royal wedding for the BBC, has three simple tips to dramatically improve your videos - all while still using just your phone. Three T...

In October 1968, Richard Nixon walked into a television studio to film ads. He sat stiffly on the edge of a desk, looked at the camera, and started to talk. One aide muttered, "I wish he'd use the teleprompter," to which another replied, "People think he's reading anyway." While Nixon never mastered the teleprompter, he did get good at recording ads without a script,...

The Margaret Thatcher Story: Late 1970s: Thatcher knew the election would be decided by television Knew she wasn't good at TV Hired media advisor Gordon Reece, former TV producer Reece relentlessly filmed her, reviewed footage together Worked on appearance, body language, and voice (from breathy/nervous to lower/commanding) Conducted private polls after appearances to adjust approach Eventual...

The Historical Story: Spring 1962: General David Shoup at White House meeting about potential Cuba invasion Used two transparencies to make his point about invasion difficulty First transparency: Cuba map overlaid on USA - stretched from DC past Chicago (over 800 miles) Second transparency: Dot representing tiny Tarawa island Tarawa: 2 square miles, took 18,000 Marines three days to conquer in WWI...

The 1960 Attack: Democrats ran ad: "Would you buy a used car from this man?" with Nixon's picture Purpose: attack with Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt (FUD) 1960: Fighting Emotion with Facts (Failed) Nixon focused on substance and policy Refused makeup before first televised debate, looked sweaty and uncomfortable Treated TV like radio with pictures Kennedy won close election Nixon lat...

What is FUD: Acronym: Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt Created by former IBM engineer Gene Amdahl 50+ years ago Appeals to emotion rather than fact Virginia Election Case Study: Redistricting ballot: over $80 million spent Yes side won by less than 2 percentage points Exit polls: many voters still uncertain what they voted on How Both Sides Used FUD: Yes Side: Messaging: protecting democracy, stopping...

This week marks just over 200 days until Election Day. Just 29 weeks.   If you haven’t started fundraising yet, now is the time. In previous episodes, we’ve covered how to overcome your fear of fundraising, how to make your first ten calls, who makes the best donors, and how to think of the people you’re calling as partners in your campaign. But this is a unique environment. What do you actually s...

The Problem: Gap between the anticipated fear and the reality of fundraising calls - we talked about this previously in Episode #20 Candidates imagine donors will be annoyed or reject them Reality: Most donors are flattered, want to help, or politely decline The gap between what we fear and what happens is huge The Solution: Phone Coach App Link: https://practice.7figurefundraising.com/phone-coach...

The Problem: Every interview is high-stakes for candidates Every question could be recorded and go viral Can't afford to mess up, but nobody is born great at answering tough questions Like expecting NFL players to learn plays during the Super Bowl The Solution: Low-Stakes Practice Introducing The Briefing Room - an app for practicing tough questions without pressure Build skills at home, in c...

The Wax Museum Lesson: Fourth graders memorized 90-second speeches about historical figures Kids rushed, focused on exact wording rather than audience Sounded like recordings, not natural communication Similar to how many adults approach public speaking The Problem with Traditional Advice: Memorizing scripts makes speeches sound robotic Most real speaking happens off the cuff: town halls, Q&A,...

In 1950, two French engineers faced a problem they couldn’t solve the old way. They didn’t have the resources to build bigger seawalls, so instead of trying to stop the wave, they asked how to break it apart. The result was the tetrapod, a simple design that disperses force from any direction. It doesn’t fight the wave head-on. It absorbs and breaks it. Campaigns face storms, too. Negative ads Out...

Every candidate needs a short gas station pitch: the 60–90 second version of why you’re running. It’s the answer you give at a gas station, a coffee shop, or the church lobby when someone asks, “So why are you running?” The challenge is there’s not much time. Do you talk about issues? Yourself? Them? Do you ask a question? Here’s a simple formula that keeps your pitch friendly and conversational....

After ending Seinfeld , Jerry Seinfeld threw out his old material and rebuilt a stand-up act from scratch. In the documentary Comedian , you see even a legend bomb, forget punchlines, and get heckled—then keep going. That’s the lesson for candidates: speeches don’t get good by thinking. They get good by reps. Your stump speech needs a gym. Over the next few months, every event—Lincoln Day dinners,...

Most candidates don’t fail at fundraising because they can’t do it. They fail because they never get started. In this episode, we break down why systems beat goals when it comes to raising money—and how a small, repeatable fundraising system compounds fast over a campaign cycle. Key takeaways: Why 50–100 focused fundraising hours is usually enough to win The hidden flaw in “goal-first” fundraising...

Most people know how to start a story. But few know how to keep people listening once they’re in it.  In this episode, we break down what actually makes the middle of a story work, using a Nate Bargatze clip (played in the episode) as the case study. Key ideas: Why great storytellers rely heavily on dialogue How two or three details can paint an entire scene Why stories move through action and rea...

The hardest part of storytelling is knowing where to begin. Most people start with way too much setup… or none at all. Use one simple formula to fix it: “So…” + Specific Time + Person + Action + Place + Goal/Tension Why it works: your listener instantly knows what’s happening and why it matters. A good opening line buys you attention for the next 90 seconds. Keep stories tight: 90–120 seconds is e...

Summary Over the last 25 years, American politics has swung back and forth like a pendulum—every “permanent majority” has proven temporary. From Bush’s “thumpin’” in 2006 to Trump’s return in 2024, one truth stands out: no single win defines the next one. This episode is a reminder to focus on what we can control. Key Points 2000: Florida recount and a divided nation. 2004: Talk of a “permanent Re...

Twenty days before the 1980 election, Reagan’s team debated one question: should he face Carter again? A memo warned his biggest hurdle was proving he was competent, compassionate, and not dangerous. In the final debate, Reagan asked, “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” That single question swung the race and gave voters permission to change their minds. The best closing messages do...

Even the best speakers lose people after 90 seconds. To keep attention high, use attention spikes —moments that re-engage your audience. Think of attention like a power line: if you go too long between interesting moments, it sags. Add “power poles” every 6–10 minutes to lift energy and reset focus. Five ways to create attention spikes: Tell a Story – Short, 30–90 seconds, to reinforce a key point...

In June 1984, Hal Riney sat at a bar and began to write. Over the course of a few hours, he drafted the scripts for what would become the most iconic ads of Ronald Reagan’s reelection campaign. One of them was Morning in America. The ad came out at a precarious moment. Over the past four years, the U.S. economy had started to recover from a deep recession and over 18% interest rates. But it wasn’t...

In this episode, we revisit the power of the one-pager as a persuasion tool. No matter how much things change, the person with a piece of paper usually wins. We walk through the core elements of an effective one-pager: Start with the bottom line . Write one sentence to summarize and one to state the action you want. Define the problem from your audience’s perspective. Lay out your solution using t...