Next week, the new Liberal Democrat Federal Executive is being whisked to a secret and highly unglamorous location for a special meeting. It's a sensible step to take some time out at the start of our term to set our goals for the next two years. You don't have the space to do that in a normal agenda, so I'm looking forward to a more focussed discussion about our priorities.
The decisions the party makes over the next two years and four months will affect our fortunes for a long time to come. To me it's clear that we need to make sure that there are lots of lovely Liberal Democrats on the green benches come 7 May 2015. To do that, we need to run a fantastic County campaign this Summer, hold on to our MEPs and have our messaging sorted out. There also needs to be recognition on the part of those in the Westminster Bubble that they need to work with the Party not treat it with contempt - and a real willingness on behalf of the party to understand the pressures of government. We're a team and all parts of the party need to work much more effectively together. There needs to be better and much more positive communication on both sides and between the party and its members. Note I say between - which implies that both sides take part in it, not one lot being told something and it being expected that they will get on with it without further discussion.
But this isn't all about me. Party members and activists, should have a voice in this, too. You may well have ideas on this and I'd like to invite you to tell me what they are so I can feed in key themes to this process. What do you want from us as FE members?
Now, I'm perfectly sure that some of the stuff you may want to talk about should not be done so on a public blog in full view of our opponents, so if you could send me your brief thoughts by email at caronsmusingsATgooglemailDOTcom, I'd really appreciate it. Tell me what's working on your patch and what's not. Tell me what you need from the party and what ideas you have.
Showing posts with label internal communication. Show all posts
Showing posts with label internal communication. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 08, 2013
Monday, December 31, 2012
"On Message, In Volume, Over Time" - horrible phrasing, but a step in the right direction
So, tell me, why would a random floating voter put their cross next to the name of a Liberal Democrat next time they go to the polls? I can think of a few reasons:
They do make some good points. One of the top ways to make the red mist descend on any Liberal Democrat activist is to use phrases like "electoral market" and "stakeholder". We tend to bristle at that sort of jargon so I'd say that the top New Year Resolution for the Communications Department in LDHQ is to start talking about people, what people who are prepared to consider voting for us are telling us they want to hear from us. They need to learn the language of the Lib Dem activist. Our local councillors, by and large, are very practical, hands-on people who have a very good understanding of the problems people are facing in their wards. Talking to them in marketing speak is not going to get them onside, even if we do have to take some lessons from clever marketers in how to get our message across.
I bet you you could name a dozen advertising slogans from your childhood without even thinking about it. How many can you name from today? I hardly ever watch ads these days because I have better things to do with my life. When I was growing up, you had no choice but to sit through them. There were no video recorders then. Today people have so much more capacity to turn off from what you want to tell them that it's more important than ever to start where they are and not where you might necessarily want them to be.
It doesn't take a genius to work out that people are bothered about jobs, the economy and the cost of living. So a core message, repeated consistently, has to be centred round these issues. For the 2010 election, we were far too late getting our core message together. The Fairer Tax, Better start for every child, cleaning up politics and investing in green economy stuff didn't come out until January 2010. Given the need to swim up through a fairly difficult current, it makes sense that we're starting early.
I've never believed that you can sell politics like cat food or confectionery. True political engagement has to involve dialogue with people. Catchy slogans and jingles might help shift mashed potato or cigars, but you have to make a lot more effort to win votes. You do need a consistent message as a way in, though. I've seen a lot of press releases coming out from our elected representatives over the years and I'd say that some, if not most, were pretty dire. Few, especially from parliamentarians, took the opportunity to tie in an action with a link to Liberal Democrat values. Now, it's more important than ever that we take every single opportunity to highlight what we're about.
I hope that nobody in LDHQ expects all our representatives to repeat the script parrot fashion. Liberator are right when they say:
As far as our script is concerned, it might have been better to say something like: These are the ideas we need as a party to get across in the coming year. We have evidence that suggests that the more people hear these things, the more likely they are to vote for us. That will help you in your Council elections this year as much as it will in the General Election. We know you're clever people, so we don't expect you to repeat this like an automaton, but please find your own way of talking about these things, both on the doorsteps and in your leaflets.If you have any questions or suggestions, let us know."
HQ need to build a feeling of being part of our team, not behave as if they're giving a bunch of naughty schoolchildren a dose of castor oil, be more collaborative, not prescriptive. From the activists' side, we need to realise that we pay people to be experts in political communication for a reason. They will have something useful to tell us and, so long as they speak to us in respectful terms, then we should pay attention to them. They want to see Liberal Democrats elected as much as we do. Their jobs and livelihoods depend on it as much as those of MPs and councillors. We are all on the same side, here.
For all the issues I have with various parts of the Government's actions, I can see the logic behind the script that's been developed. My only criticism would be that it's missing the key "get on in life" elements. Putting serious money into ensuring that people get effective treatment for mental health issues is liberating for them and gives them their lives back. That has to be worth shouting from the rooftops, surely. Also treating parents like adults and allowing them to decide who takes what leave when a child is born fits into that category. Those will be elements that really, properly connect with people emotionally and we need to make sure we talk about them a lot.
I personally find the lack of talking about freedom quite difficult. Civil liberties, human rights, that's why I joined the party and it's a huge part of liberal and liberal democrat DNA. It's also quite important to be talking about tolerance and diversity and freedom as both Labour and the Tories really don't value these things anything like enough. When both of them scapegoat people, we need to be there standing against their intolerant and unpleasant language.
In terms of the positioning as regards the other parties, we're probably about right with the Tories. We don't need to say much more than they protect the rich and vested interests. I think we should have put more of our welfare reform gains in, though. Housing benefit would have been removed from the under 25s if they'd had their way, for example. On the other hand, while I agree that I wouldn't trust Labour to do my weekly shop, limiting their failure just to the economy when they took us into an illegal war and passed a whole load of authoritarian rubbish is missing an opportunity.
In terms of our future plans, I have a big problem with:
We could spend all day picking holes in what's been put out, and everyone will have their own perspective on it. Might it not be a better use of our time, though, to work out what we can use and how we can get these core messages out in a way that's authentic to us. I feel perfectly comfortable talking about delivering the biggest ever rise in the state pension and making the tax system fairer, about giving more money to disadvantaged kids at school, about how Nick Clegg's £1bn youth contract is getting young people into work. That doesn't mean to say I'm going to stop talking about my opposition to secret courts, or my concerns about the Work Capability Assessment, but I'm willing to give our good people in Government a fair go.
I think that there are things that our leaders, our communications people and our activists can all do in order to work together more effectively in 2013. The next year will be a success to me if by the end of it, there's a bit more mutual co-operation and understanding. It's no accident that four of the most popular people in the party, Alistair Carmichael, \Kirsty Williams, Tim Farron and Paddy Ashdown are spearheading the drive to motivate activists in the coming year. Campaigns Department and ALDC are working much more effectively together. These are good and positive signs. We need to add in some fine tuning in the way those in the Bubble speak to those of us on the ground. That way lies the success we all want.
- they like the candidate, who may have helped them personally, or someone they know;
- they like what we are doing locally;
- they like what we are doing in the coalition;
- they like what our state parties are doing - both Willie Rennie and Kirsty Williams have had a very good 2012 in Scotland and Wales.
On the way to the polling station, they will have had a barrage of messages, in written and verbal and video form, from parties who are much better resourced than we are, telling them that the Liberal Democrats are treacherous spawn of Satan. Much of that material is inaccurate and, actually, irresponsible scaremongering.
While I certainly don't think we're going to come out of this experience in Government with a clean bill of health, I do think we need to shout about the good things we have done with a reasonably united voice. We also have to tell people why we've done them, what it is about our core philosophy that make us act in a certain way. That narrative has been so lacking in recent years.
Over the past couple of years, the party has been trying to develop that narrative. They started, last year, with "more compassionate than the Conservatives, more economically competent than Labour" which was ok as far as it went, but told you nothing about what we were about. That has now been through a few more rewrites and we now have this:
The Liberal Democrats are building a stronger economy in a fairer society, enabling every person to get on in life.This is followed by a list of achievements, plus a list of where we want to go in the future.How do I know this? Because I read it on Liberator's blog. They printed the entire script, plus the covering memo from Party HQ and, of course, being Liberator, have slated it entirely.
They do make some good points. One of the top ways to make the red mist descend on any Liberal Democrat activist is to use phrases like "electoral market" and "stakeholder". We tend to bristle at that sort of jargon so I'd say that the top New Year Resolution for the Communications Department in LDHQ is to start talking about people, what people who are prepared to consider voting for us are telling us they want to hear from us. They need to learn the language of the Lib Dem activist. Our local councillors, by and large, are very practical, hands-on people who have a very good understanding of the problems people are facing in their wards. Talking to them in marketing speak is not going to get them onside, even if we do have to take some lessons from clever marketers in how to get our message across.
I bet you you could name a dozen advertising slogans from your childhood without even thinking about it. How many can you name from today? I hardly ever watch ads these days because I have better things to do with my life. When I was growing up, you had no choice but to sit through them. There were no video recorders then. Today people have so much more capacity to turn off from what you want to tell them that it's more important than ever to start where they are and not where you might necessarily want them to be.
It doesn't take a genius to work out that people are bothered about jobs, the economy and the cost of living. So a core message, repeated consistently, has to be centred round these issues. For the 2010 election, we were far too late getting our core message together. The Fairer Tax, Better start for every child, cleaning up politics and investing in green economy stuff didn't come out until January 2010. Given the need to swim up through a fairly difficult current, it makes sense that we're starting early.
I've never believed that you can sell politics like cat food or confectionery. True political engagement has to involve dialogue with people. Catchy slogans and jingles might help shift mashed potato or cigars, but you have to make a lot more effort to win votes. You do need a consistent message as a way in, though. I've seen a lot of press releases coming out from our elected representatives over the years and I'd say that some, if not most, were pretty dire. Few, especially from parliamentarians, took the opportunity to tie in an action with a link to Liberal Democrat values. Now, it's more important than ever that we take every single opportunity to highlight what we're about.
I hope that nobody in LDHQ expects all our representatives to repeat the script parrot fashion. Liberator are right when they say:
this sort of wooden language is precisely the thing that turns people off because it makes politicians sound rehearsed, false and insincere. It sounds scripted because it is scripted. Indeed, scripting isn’t a solution – it’s part of the problem because it makes politicians sound more like Daleks than human beings.HQ is knee deep in lessons from the Obama campaign at the moment. One of the key things is that the campaign encouraged their activists to get out there and tell their personal story as to why they were supporting Obama. It could be that their mother had had her live saved by Obamacare. They key is that it was something very personal to them, something that the people they are talking to could directly relate to. But these personal stories were heavily linked to key campaign messages - they had to be, else what was the point?
As far as our script is concerned, it might have been better to say something like: These are the ideas we need as a party to get across in the coming year. We have evidence that suggests that the more people hear these things, the more likely they are to vote for us. That will help you in your Council elections this year as much as it will in the General Election. We know you're clever people, so we don't expect you to repeat this like an automaton, but please find your own way of talking about these things, both on the doorsteps and in your leaflets.If you have any questions or suggestions, let us know."
HQ need to build a feeling of being part of our team, not behave as if they're giving a bunch of naughty schoolchildren a dose of castor oil, be more collaborative, not prescriptive. From the activists' side, we need to realise that we pay people to be experts in political communication for a reason. They will have something useful to tell us and, so long as they speak to us in respectful terms, then we should pay attention to them. They want to see Liberal Democrats elected as much as we do. Their jobs and livelihoods depend on it as much as those of MPs and councillors. We are all on the same side, here.
For all the issues I have with various parts of the Government's actions, I can see the logic behind the script that's been developed. My only criticism would be that it's missing the key "get on in life" elements. Putting serious money into ensuring that people get effective treatment for mental health issues is liberating for them and gives them their lives back. That has to be worth shouting from the rooftops, surely. Also treating parents like adults and allowing them to decide who takes what leave when a child is born fits into that category. Those will be elements that really, properly connect with people emotionally and we need to make sure we talk about them a lot.
I personally find the lack of talking about freedom quite difficult. Civil liberties, human rights, that's why I joined the party and it's a huge part of liberal and liberal democrat DNA. It's also quite important to be talking about tolerance and diversity and freedom as both Labour and the Tories really don't value these things anything like enough. When both of them scapegoat people, we need to be there standing against their intolerant and unpleasant language.
In terms of the positioning as regards the other parties, we're probably about right with the Tories. We don't need to say much more than they protect the rich and vested interests. I think we should have put more of our welfare reform gains in, though. Housing benefit would have been removed from the under 25s if they'd had their way, for example. On the other hand, while I agree that I wouldn't trust Labour to do my weekly shop, limiting their failure just to the economy when they took us into an illegal war and passed a whole load of authoritarian rubbish is missing an opportunity.
In terms of our future plans, I have a big problem with:
Reform the welfare system to get people off benefits and into work.That needs a "while looking after those who are not able to do so" in there.
We could spend all day picking holes in what's been put out, and everyone will have their own perspective on it. Might it not be a better use of our time, though, to work out what we can use and how we can get these core messages out in a way that's authentic to us. I feel perfectly comfortable talking about delivering the biggest ever rise in the state pension and making the tax system fairer, about giving more money to disadvantaged kids at school, about how Nick Clegg's £1bn youth contract is getting young people into work. That doesn't mean to say I'm going to stop talking about my opposition to secret courts, or my concerns about the Work Capability Assessment, but I'm willing to give our good people in Government a fair go.
I think that there are things that our leaders, our communications people and our activists can all do in order to work together more effectively in 2013. The next year will be a success to me if by the end of it, there's a bit more mutual co-operation and understanding. It's no accident that four of the most popular people in the party, Alistair Carmichael, \Kirsty Williams, Tim Farron and Paddy Ashdown are spearheading the drive to motivate activists in the coming year. Campaigns Department and ALDC are working much more effectively together. These are good and positive signs. We need to add in some fine tuning in the way those in the Bubble speak to those of us on the ground. That way lies the success we all want.
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Writing to members about election results - what Nick needs to learn from Tim
Friday was not an easy day for the Liberal Democrats. This was not a surprise. I doubt many of us expected any good news at all. There was, though. We gained five Council seats and held on to three - and some of them were even up north where we're told by Labour and SNP types on social media, nobody will ever vote for us again.
Electing police commissioners was one of these ideas the Tories brought to the Coalition and for a time, the English Liberal Democrats, astoundingly, weren't going to stand any candidates. It's a shame we didn't have a candidate in every seat, but I can understand why paying the £5000 deposit when there wasn't even the opportunity of a freepost to put your case over each vast area might have been off-putting.
Nick Clegg has sent out another of his Letters from the Leader this week which in the main was very good. I'll cover that in a separate post. However, I think he needs to work on his wording when he talks about election results. His team doesn't seem to have learned anything since the poor effort in May. All we got was a brief paragraph at the top:
No "thank you" to all our candidates and campaign teams. No recognition of their efforts in the cold November wind and rain. No "this is mid term - it will get better". No "what you've been done is worthwhile." No "when I did my phone banking, I could tell that people are ready to listen to us again." Now, I know perfectly well that Nick is grateful to people. The emails that go out in his name, which I'm not convinced he ever sees, need to reflect that. I can't hear the Nick Clegg I know speaking to me from that paragraph.
Compare and contrast with Tim Farron's missive on Friday. A big tick, by the way, to the people who didn't send it to me because I live in Scotland so it didn't apply. I had to get it from that fount of all knowledge, Lib Dem Voice. Not that I'm biased about that, of course.
Tim nailed it. And I can hear him say every word of this.
It was full of empathy, an assurance that the hard work folk had put in was not in vain, and ended with a challenge to get going and work for the elections next May.
Nick couldn't have got all that in, but he could have elaborated a bit and at the very least said thank you. He could have included the Council by-elections, too.
A bit of empathy, gratitude and recognition of people's efforts with a bit of "I'd be interested to know what you did on the ground and what worked and what didn't" would not go amiss. I hope that we don't have to have many more of this kind of email, but if we do, in the future, Nick's team really need to learn from Tim.
Electing police commissioners was one of these ideas the Tories brought to the Coalition and for a time, the English Liberal Democrats, astoundingly, weren't going to stand any candidates. It's a shame we didn't have a candidate in every seat, but I can understand why paying the £5000 deposit when there wasn't even the opportunity of a freepost to put your case over each vast area might have been off-putting.
Nick Clegg has sent out another of his Letters from the Leader this week which in the main was very good. I'll cover that in a separate post. However, I think he needs to work on his wording when he talks about election results. His team doesn't seem to have learned anything since the poor effort in May. All we got was a brief paragraph at the top:
In a week when we saw a set of disappointing elections - with hard working Liberal Democrats not getting the results they deserved and turnout slumping to a new low - it's worth remembering what we're achieving in Government.And that's it.
No "thank you" to all our candidates and campaign teams. No recognition of their efforts in the cold November wind and rain. No "this is mid term - it will get better". No "what you've been done is worthwhile." No "when I did my phone banking, I could tell that people are ready to listen to us again." Now, I know perfectly well that Nick is grateful to people. The emails that go out in his name, which I'm not convinced he ever sees, need to reflect that. I can't hear the Nick Clegg I know speaking to me from that paragraph.
Compare and contrast with Tim Farron's missive on Friday. A big tick, by the way, to the people who didn't send it to me because I live in Scotland so it didn't apply. I had to get it from that fount of all knowledge, Lib Dem Voice. Not that I'm biased about that, of course.
Tim nailed it. And I can hear him say every word of this.
I wanted to put on record the party’s thanks to our candidates in yesterday’s PCC elections, by-elections and Bristol mayoral election.
We had many excellent candidates and teams who worked very hard to fly the flag for our party. I thank them all and I’m sure you would like to do the same.
It was a tough day, and whilst we may not have gained anything the hard work we’ve put in lays the foundations for the challenge ahead.
However I would like to add special congratulations to the teams who helped us hold three local council seats and gain five more yesterday.
I knew when I became a Liberal Democrat I wasn’t picking the easy route in politics. I joined because I believe in liberal values like fairness and justice. I joined because no other party was going to fight for those values.
It’s on tough days like this, I think it’s good to remind ourselves that none of this has changed.
Being in Government has clearly meant that we can get hit by protest votes, but it also means we can deliver meaningful change.
I’m proud of what we’re doing on cutting tax for average workers, creating work opportunities for young people and getting more money into schools that need it the most.
None of that would be happening if we were not in Government.
We need to learn the lessons from painful days like today. We also need to learn how we update and improve our campaigning (there may be some pointers from President Obama’s re-election on that).
That’s the mission ahead for us. The challenge I’m setting today is that in next May’s English local elections, we have something to celebrate again.
Over the years I’ve seen some amazing campaigns fought in this party. I’ll back Liberal Democrat candidates and campaigners in a fight with anyone! We’re the only party with liberal solutions to the problems facing our country.
There are brighter days ahead if we stay strong and fight hard.
Best wishes,Tim Farron MPPresident of the Liberal Democrats
PS Please do take a moment over the weekend to send your wishes to our colleagues who worked so hard on yesterday’s elections. It will make a real difference. And remember, next week the fightback begins.
It was full of empathy, an assurance that the hard work folk had put in was not in vain, and ended with a challenge to get going and work for the elections next May.
Nick couldn't have got all that in, but he could have elaborated a bit and at the very least said thank you. He could have included the Council by-elections, too.
A bit of empathy, gratitude and recognition of people's efforts with a bit of "I'd be interested to know what you did on the ground and what worked and what didn't" would not go amiss. I hope that we don't have to have many more of this kind of email, but if we do, in the future, Nick's team really need to learn from Tim.
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