No more loudspeakers

Notice how many headlines on this web site ask a question? That's no accident. Few people can pass a question mark without reflexively coming up with an answer. So, you've started a conversation.

Is this a rhetorical trick? No, because all communication is a transaction. We trade our time and attention for something of value. When we feel the transaction is fair and useful, we stay with it.

For example, if you don't feel you're learning something from this page, you'll click away. But if it promises to make you a more successful campaigner or an amusing dinner companion, you'll keep reading.

Messages about social issues reach different audiences: the informed constituency, the general public, a half-dozen influential targets and the media. Does asking a question create more room for people with a variety of experiences, ideas and values?

Many people feel like outsiders, unable to make a difference. They're convinced that nobody cares what they want. As we become less connected to each other, we also become less tolerant of being told what to think — let alone, what to do. We distrust experts. We want to experience our own truth. Authenticity is key.

Loudspeakers lump us all together. We’d rather speak out as individuals and be addressed by people who know us. Doesn't it make sense to tap into that desire?

To start a conversation, do what's natural. Ask a question. Then make your campaign the answer.