Here’s something I’ve learned after thirty years in this business.
Tell a voter a statistic and they argue with you in their head. Tell them a story and they lean in.
That’s not an opinion. That’s how the human brain works.
When you hit somebody with numbers, they read it with their guard up. They’re skeptical. Critical. Looking for the catch.
But when you tell a story, something different happens. They drop their guard. They stop arguing and start feeling.
That’s why “Property taxes went up 40 percent under my opponent” doesn’t move anybody.
But “Meet Betty. She’s 74. She might lose the house she’s lived in for 50 years because of my opponent’s tax hikes” does.
Here’s how you use this.
Fundraising: Don’t open your ask letter with a poll number. Open it with one voter’s story. Numbers engage the brain. Stories open the wallet.
Votes: Don’t just tell voters what your opponent voted for. Tell them who it hurt. Give the policy a face.
Volunteers: People don’t knock doors because of a spreadsheet. They knock doors because a story made them mad or made them care.
Beating your opponent: While he’s citing budget numbers nobody remembers, you tell one story voters can’t shake.
Now, facts still matter. Use them. But wrap them in a story or they’ll bounce right off.
The takeaway: Facts inform. Stories persuade. And elections are won by persuasion, not information.
Dr. Chuck Muth, PsD
Professor of Psephology*
(homeschooled)
* Psephology (see-follow-gee): The study of campaigns and elections