Winning Edge

George Creel faced the challenge of boosting public support for World War I in 1917 Donald Ryerson proposed the 4 Minute Men program: Grassroots network of local speakers delivering speeches during film reel changes Focused on a single issue and action for the audience Recruited and trained over 75,000 speakers, delivering nearly a million speeches The program's success relied on a persuasive...

This episode focuses on showing rather than just talking about a graph First, ask if the chosen graph type (line, bar, stacked bar, etc.) is the best fit Decide on the emotion you want to evoke in your target audience (surprise, outrage, curiosity, etc.) For this example, the goal is to create curiosity and encourage the decision-maker to ask questions To simplify and clean up a graph, remember LL...

Data can be boring, but turning it into a mystery can make it interesting and memorable To persuade effectively, remember: One Person and One Point One Person: Imagine a single listener and their context One Point: Decide the main point you want them to remember a week later To create mystery numbers: 1. Start with intrigue about a number 2. Reveal part of the answer 3. Reveal a little more 4. Sum...

Data is subjective and a snapshot of the past Use intuitive tools from phone photography to judge if you're being persuaded by bad data Five tests to evaluate data: 1. Selfie Test: Is the data self-reported or from an objective 3rd party? 2. Zoom Test: Would zooming in or out change the interpretation? 3. Crop Test: What context is missing or excluded? 4. Video Test: Would a data series provi...

Persuasion requires both an emotional response and supporting logic and facts Too many facts can cause people to lose interest Three key ways to persuade with numbers: 1. Have a Translation Sentence Provide context for numbers, like translating a foreign language Example: Explain the state budget deficit in relatable terms 2. Round and Make Concrete Be memorable and directionally accurate rather t...

Mother Teresa, despite working with the poor, didn't have a poverty mindset when fundraising She would sit in first class to raise thousands more than the ticket cost The poverty mindset involves negative thoughts about fundraising, such as: Feeling unworthy of donations Thinking you're interrupting donors Believing donors won't give if asked Effective fundraisers adopt the Partners...

Fundraising efficiently is crucial for a successful campaign Imagine filling a wheelbarrow (fundraising goal) with a spoon (small donors) vs. a shovel (major donors) Major donors contribute over 80% of funds in most campaigns Asking for larger donations saves time, which is finite in a campaign Ask for a range of donations, as some donors may give more than expected Focus on major donors to fund a...

Fundraising is a learnable skill crucial for winning elections Donors typically have three questions:   1. Who are you?   2. Why are you running?   3. How are you different? Introduce yourself and share your background to build trust Answer "Why are you running?" using the formula:  State the Problem + The Status Quo + Your Solution Stand out by having a plan and making a promise Make th...