Years ago, I learned my most valuable lobbying technique: tell the right story to the right person in terms of their values.
If you want to persuade anyone, you need to look at the issue from their perspective. You need to walk in their shoes. And when you have done that, you can put forward a story to persuade them.
This approach is hard work. After all, you are sure of the righteousness of your case. You find it hard to believe anyone of sound mind would disagree with you. All you need to do is ‘educate’ them; they will see things just right.
Status Quo v. Value Communications
I’ve found an easier way to persuade someone is to: (1) take your issue and adapt your issue and solution into a story (2) , convert that story so it speaks to the three main value groups – Settlers, Prospectors, and Pioneers, and (3) tell that story. This takes more up-front research and thinking.
The easier solution is to take your issue, convert it into a 55-page position paper, and send it randomly to people you think may be involved in making a decision. This does not take too much work. You do not need evidence, just your beliefs, and maybe in a moment of weakness, you include a footnote from a Trump University study. Your position paper is a font 10, 55-page critique of the proposal/initiative. It reads like the introduction to the author’s doctoral thesis. It’s been written for the four people who read the author’s doctoral thesis.
This one size fits all approach has advantages. All decision maker gets the same document, whether expert or not. It is for the reader to understand. No concessions are given to engaging the reader from how they see the world, so there is no need to consider the readers’ values.
Fig.1. Status Quo Approach
The Case for 9 Stories
I prefer a more time-consuming approach.
Say you have three issues you want to raise with decision-makers on a file. It means you identify three issues (less is better), and have a solution for each. For each issue and solution, you bring credible data and evidence, preferably public, to the table. You convert your ask into a one-page position paper and use annexes for any technical information.
You then convert this into the story you’d like to hear. See this post on storytelling. This is a great first step. You can now persuade yourself and those who see the world from your position. You likely work with them or sit on a Committee of experts who agree with your worldview. The only challenge is that you will unlikely be making the decision, and there will unlikely be enough people holding your worldview to make sure things go how you want them to.
After you have done that, the hard work starts. You take what you have and tell a story that speaks to each member of your target audience. The easy way to do this is to go through the three main values groups: Settlers, Prospectors and Pioneers. Each group has common values inside that group and has a common vocabulary. See here for more on the three groups.
Then, all you have to do is translate what you want into three stories, one for Settlers, one for Prospectors and one for Pioneers.
If you have three issues, you’ll have nine stories.
Fig. 2. A Values-Based Approach
Sure it means more work up front. The main barrier is thinking anyone could see the world differently than you. As a free trade, Northern Irish Catholic, Social Democrat, who feels at home in Personalism, I’ve got past the barrier.
All you have to do is go and meet the decision-makers and present your story adapted for them.
There is one upside to this approach. When you engage people in terms of their values, use their words, and use stories, , they are likely to agree with you. The extra work is worth it.