In 1999, I attended lesson one, day one of my political science degree.
“Congratulations”, the Professor said, “you’ve signed up to being frustrated - and even infuriated - for the rest of your life. You’re going to have to learn to be very patient with people or you’ll be very lonely.”
What an odd thing to say, I thought, as I scanned the room and noticed the other 35 people in my class, looking equally perplexed.
“But I need to qualify that. Let me open this class with some things you need to know upfront if you’re going to study political science. It’s not for the faint hearted, and if you can’t learn how to communicate, and be patient with people in your life, you should probably study something that will make you more likeable. Get an A in this class and then apply for Law school.”
Everyone chuckled. Most of us were in political science because we didn’t get into the Bachelor of Laws (which was a lot harder at the time), so it was the perfect ice-breaker.
This guy knew his audience.
“So, with that out of the way, let me explain what I mean.
A minority of people are interested in politics outside of election campaigns.
The majority of people rely on low-quality information via evening news and sound bytes.
The majority of people who are interested in politics are more likely to participate, but that participation does not necessarily correlate with knowledge.
“Participation” ranges from talking about politics to joining a political party, and most people are in the former group.
The people who “participate” are often very confident they know a lot about our political system. This does not, however, meaningfully correlate with their knowledge.
People generally vote for emotional reasons, not logical ones.
Getting people interested in politics at all is the hardest part.
Apathy is the biggest problem in a modern democracy.
And, just in case you all think I’m suggesting that you are instantly one of the knowledgeable ones because you have taken this unit, that is not automatically the case, and you could just as easily end up being one of the over-confident ones that doesn’t know, but simply participates.
If you do engage with this course and graduate with a degree, you will likely be in the small percentage of people who do know what they’re talking about, but you will be severely outnumbered, even among those who participate.
You will need to learn to communicate, work with people from all walks of life, and most importantly, if you are doing politics right, inspire people to participate above anything else.
Politics won’t make you friends, but done right, it can help you influence people.
It’s not verbatim, but I remember this vividly enough to relay the gist1.
He was right.
Over the course of the next 3 years, I’d see half my class change degree. I think once they realised that political science done right was a lot more behavioural science, stats, procedural details, and much less “participating” than they thought it’d be. Most of the people who were in that class fell away and switched to Comms or Business. Journalism students would do an elective here or there, as would the Education students. In my graduating class, I think there were 3 people who finished the degree, and had heard that Lesson One on Day One about the relationship between confidence, apathy, participation and knowledge and the need for patience and humility if you want to persuade people to vote.
Boy, was he right.
I’ve encountered many a single-issue activist in my time, especially those who “participate” by talking about politics. The vast majority of them expected people to change their mind based on one conversation, one touchpoint, one tweet, or one slogan.
Then of course, complain when people don’t appreciate their efforts.
Well yeah...
...duh, it’s hard. If you actually understand politics and paid attention in class, you should know this.
Getting people to support a cause, especially complex ones with a lot of intersecting problems and information, is more like selling million-dollar consulting. The shit or lazy campaigners seem to think it’s more akin to selling knock-offs on Wish. Activists - especially the single-issue ones - don’t understand that they’re in sales, and their main competition is apathy.
That’s always their fatal flaw. They arrogantly assume they can show up and talk features and benefits, repeat slogans and make an instant sale if they push hard enough and handle every objection.
In sales, the more expensive the product or service, the longer the sales cycle. Unless they’re in immediate need and know what they want to buy, they’re going to need time to decide, compare and do their research. High pressure sales rarely results in anything other than buyer’s remorse, or a door in the face.
They may not be in the market right now, or never buy at all.
They may like the product but not want to buy it from YOU, because they find you to be too… salesy or scammy. They may have been ripped off before and therefore be more cautious, need to ask the same questions over and over again and waste your time, only to then go to someone else who explained it better, makes them feel less shit, or myriad other reasons.
That’s what persuasion is. That’s what changing hearts and minds is.
Patience. Hustle. Grind. Humility. Not simply being right or having a good product.
Generally, anyone who wants to stop anyone asking questions because they aren’t sold yet, aren’t caving to pressure and need some time to think about it, is destined to lose the sale.
It’s easy to sell mass-produced junk to idiots or addicts wanting a quick fix, or to scam people into signing their name in the moment.
It is way harder to sell something of substance, especially if they don’t see an immediate threat or problem with the status quo. It is exceptionally hard to sell uncertain or intangible outcomes.
Especially if what you are selling strikes to the core of someone’s self-perception of who they are and where they fit in the world.
Obviously, because internet, there will be “activists” who try to get rich quick using shortcuts, throwing money at things, black hat tactics or silencing competitors, or sell MLM. That’s going to happen.
But ultimately, if you’re selling something but don’t welcome questions about your product, you not only probably have a shitty product, but you also haven’t taken lesson one, day one on the basics.
Let people speak. Let people ask questions. They’re not ready to buy yet. But, they might be. They might be 90% of the way there and just need you to get them over the line.
If your product is good, and you are patient and approachable, it becomes an easy sale down the track, when they see that you helped them along the way, with no agenda, and didn’t pressure them into buying something before they were ready, and when everyone else was trying to sell them crap using high pressure sales tactics.
That can take years, if it happens at all. It takes patience, humility, and good communication skills. People who feel coerced or manipulated into a purchase using high-pressure sales tactics are highly unlikely to become loyal customers in the long term, and most definitely will not refer you to others. In fact, it often turns someone who could have been a loyal and happy customer into someone who tells everyone they know to stay away, because you’re an aggressive lunatic who is trying to pressure them into signing up to a MLM.
Don’t be lazy and stop complaining that it’s hard. Yes. It is. That’s why there are lots of dropouts.
Lazy political campaigners are as bad as lazy marketers and salespeople. They think they can just throw a slogan at it, buy a billboard, silence opponents and delete the bad reviews and you’ve won.
You haven’t.
Long term changes of hearts and minds, loyal fans and die-hard customers takes effort. It’s a grind. It is difficult, especially in a landscape where those with the most resources are able to take shortcuts and sell pre-chewed slop to people who are starving, or don’t respect boundaries and have blocked the doorway and they want to go home.
They may buy in the short term to placate you, but you haven’t won them.
It can take years for someone to go from “questioning” to “on board”, and if you are silencing people, you are going to lose them in the long term, because you lost their trust. And that can be done in an instant, especially if you didn’t pay attention in class, are confident without knowledge, and think “participating” is merely talking at people until they give in or tell you to fuck off.
Stick around, Lesson 2 is wild.
