What political candidates need to know about winning support: Responsible campaigning

IT’S election campaign time. As we often hear, we deserve the leaders we elect. If you are a political candidate, are you aware of the following crucial information? If you want to reach your constituents, your message has to be delivered in a variety of ways because everyone absorbs information differently.

In the same family, no two people learn in exactly the same way. Whether citizens relate to you depends on the luck of the draw — whether their learning styles match or not — the way you deliver your message.

When you talk, the odds are strong that less than 20 percent of your audience will remember three-fourths of what you say. When you distribute printed materials, no more than 30 percent of the readers will remember much of what they read. When you shake hands and hug, a different 15 to 20 percent of those present will understand the intent of your message.

When you discuss issues and solicit opinions (even if you do not intend to use them), another 30 percent will respond to your position. When you joke and tease as you talk, global processors are likely to embrace many of your ideas.

However, analytics may think you are flippant and may not take you seriously. When you stay with the facts and don’t use humor, global constituents may find what you say boring.

When you hug babies, reflective people may suspect your motives. If you don’t, impulsive people may say you have no heart.

When you provide a variety of seating options (hard chairs, cushions, sofas) or opportunities to stand, analytic constituents will select formal seating, while global constituents will alternate among the other options. This means that everyone in your audience will be a better listener.

When you have refreshments available while you speak, the global processors in your group will be attentive, but the analytic processors are likely to ignore them. However, be certain that there are refreshments available for them after you have ended!

Learning style is defined as the way in which each individual begins to concentrate, process, absorb and retain new and difficult information. Global constituents need to see the “big picture” first, then they focus on details. They see the forest, but bump into the trees! Analytic constituents need to see the details first, then they build those details into an understanding. These people never go into the forest!

You may want to know that global processors constitute 55 percent of the adult population, approximately 28 percent are analytic. The remainder are integrated, meaning that if they are interested in what you are proposing, they can adjust to your style.

Here’s what the research is saying: To communicate effectively, you need to know how your audience receives information. Four decades of research has verified that:

– People take in information through different senses; the least sensory strength they have is the ability to listen and remember three-fourths of what they hear.

– Globals respond best when you tell them first what you want to do and then how you will actually do it. Analytics respond best when you give them a step-by-step plan for getting done what you want to do.

For what you say to be internalized, your audience needs to: Begin concentrating with their strongest perceptual strength; reinforce through their secondary perceptual strength the information you have shared with them; apply what they have learned in some creative way, e.g., writing a letter to the local newspaper supporting your position or telephoning neighbors on your behalf; and deliver in a way that responds to most people, use both printed word and graphically illustrated visuals while speaking.

Get the audience to use their arms, hands and bodies in response to your questions or statements. Sway with them. Convert your message into a song and sing it with them. Rap with them and engage in simple movements in which they participate.

To respond to both globals and analytics, make the basic message sober and add a bit of related humor. If you are socializing, accent the humor; if you want votes, accent the message and tease a bit. Global processors internalize new and difficult information when relaxed, whereas analytic processors create their own tensions.

Be prepared to respond to conforming and nonconforming constituents. Most humans experience at least three stages of nonconformity during their lifetime.

The first is euphemistically called “the terrible twos”, followed by “adolescence”, and then “mid-life crisis”. There may be a fourth stage of nonconformity that manifests itself as humans age — during grandparenting, after illness or retirement, or when facing their own mortality. Each is a period during which individuals challenge authority and respond best to choices, make collegial suggestions and understand why certain issues are important to those who legislate them.

What This All Means. If you really want your constituents to understand and appreciate your message, communicate with them in the way each internalizes and processes information. Because people are so different from each other, it is important to capitalize on their processing and sensory strengths.

For more description details, email Professor Tenedero at tenederohenry@gmail. com or visit his Facebook page Henry Soleta Tenedero.