Running for public office means more than being a good candidate or being passionate about one or more issues. These days, it means telling your story—and not just telling it, but telling it the most effective way. Political pundits call it "controlling the narrative." Partly, they mean managing what aspects of your story get "out" to the public, and how, and when. Partly, they mean sticking to your "message" (and creating one in the first place). Where do these strategies begin? With telling your personal story, understanding your audience, and thinking about how your story circulates out there in the public sphere.
I propose a series of workshops to help underrepresented citizens run for office (i.e. women, minorities, LGBTQ, differently abled, and so forth). The first step in this community-oriented campaign? Reach out to community and civic groups they already participate in, such as local parent groups, community centers, women's organizations, small-business and minority-business groups, etc. Meet for coffee. Stay for tea. The first step is to build relationships and discover what they need, what they want—and to gauge interest in "narrative" workshops that aim to get people involved and running for office.
Another early step: Reach out to campaign advisors, organizers, and groups. They can be collaborators in the workshops. Reach out to women and minorities already serving in public office. They have stories to tell about their experiences and challenges.
For example, I once attended a League of Women Voters forum that featured a keynote address and then a discussion led by former South Carolina statehouse representative Harriet Keyserling. She told her own story, about moving to Beaufort, South Carolina, in 1944. A native of New York city, she was Jewish, the daughter of Russian immigrants, wife to a local physician. She organized a chapter of the League of Women Voters, became the first woman to serve on the Beaufort County Council, then at age 54 was elected to the statehouse. What new stories are out there, waiting to be told and heard?
The workshop series would rely on the above community relationships and people. Those already serving in office could tell their success stories, which are guaranteed to include what challenges they faced and how they addressed them. "Expert" campaign organizers, community leaders, and the like—these collaborators have on-the-ground, practical advice to share. But the focus would be on newcomers. What stories do they have to tell?
Workshops would mix brief guest-speaker elements with practice in both crafting narratives and looking critically at existing narratives (successful and unsuccessful). For example, Keyserling's story speaks both of her determination and her privileged position. That is, she arrived in Beaufort as an outsider who had the luxury to volunteer then run for office. Is her story relevant to a single mom? What are today's narratives, and which of them are useful (and ethical) to learn from and, possibly, apply?
Workshops, hosted in various venues chosen by the collaborators, would include explorations of story, purpose, audience, and other rhetorical aspects of narrative. That is, why are you running? What narrative best communicates who you are and what you want to accomplish? Where does that narrative begin? What counter narratives might interfere with your message? What are the best media for telling your story? Alexandrio Ocasio-Cortez, for example, uses Twitter. Is that the best platform for you, or just one of several options?
I propose a series of workshops to help underrepresented citizens run for office (i.e. women, minorities, LGBTQ, differently abled, and so forth). The first step in this community-oriented campaign? Reach out to community and civic groups they already participate in, such as local parent groups, community centers, women's organizations, small-business and minority-business groups, etc. Meet for coffee. Stay for tea. The first step is to build relationships and discover what they need, what they want—and to gauge interest in "narrative" workshops that aim to get people involved and running for office.
Another early step: Reach out to campaign advisors, organizers, and groups. They can be collaborators in the workshops. Reach out to women and minorities already serving in public office. They have stories to tell about their experiences and challenges.
For example, I once attended a League of Women Voters forum that featured a keynote address and then a discussion led by former South Carolina statehouse representative Harriet Keyserling. She told her own story, about moving to Beaufort, South Carolina, in 1944. A native of New York city, she was Jewish, the daughter of Russian immigrants, wife to a local physician. She organized a chapter of the League of Women Voters, became the first woman to serve on the Beaufort County Council, then at age 54 was elected to the statehouse. What new stories are out there, waiting to be told and heard?
The workshop series would rely on the above community relationships and people. Those already serving in office could tell their success stories, which are guaranteed to include what challenges they faced and how they addressed them. "Expert" campaign organizers, community leaders, and the like—these collaborators have on-the-ground, practical advice to share. But the focus would be on newcomers. What stories do they have to tell?
Workshops would mix brief guest-speaker elements with practice in both crafting narratives and looking critically at existing narratives (successful and unsuccessful). For example, Keyserling's story speaks both of her determination and her privileged position. That is, she arrived in Beaufort as an outsider who had the luxury to volunteer then run for office. Is her story relevant to a single mom? What are today's narratives, and which of them are useful (and ethical) to learn from and, possibly, apply?
Workshops, hosted in various venues chosen by the collaborators, would include explorations of story, purpose, audience, and other rhetorical aspects of narrative. That is, why are you running? What narrative best communicates who you are and what you want to accomplish? Where does that narrative begin? What counter narratives might interfere with your message? What are the best media for telling your story? Alexandrio Ocasio-Cortez, for example, uses Twitter. Is that the best platform for you, or just one of several options?
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