Why is deep canvassing relevant to the world we live in today? For instance, Donald Trump won Michigan by 10,000 votes. (Also worth noting: Deep canvassing has only been tested with progressive causes. As the team's National Mentoring Coordinator he partnered with organizations and campaigns across the country to develop and apply deep conversation approaches - around marriage equality, trans-inclusive nondiscrimination laws, criminal justice reform, and . Effective Lobbying and Deep Canvassing - Institute for Change Leaders Like, of course were on your doorstep on a Saturday talking about transgender issues!, Moments later, Williams reminded the volunteers to be open and nonjudgmental. The day before one canvass, representatives from an animal rights group told me they hoped to better understand how to help people connect emotionally to animal welfare. The study claimed to find that though both gay and straight canvassers were effective at the door, only voters contacted by gay canvassers remained persuaded nearly a year later. If the effect persists, Broockman says, the technique could be used to reduce prejudice across society. Fanned out across the neighborhood were more than three dozen Leadership Lab volunteers, many of them local college students, as well as progressive activists from around the country hoping to learn about changing voters minds. His previous research suggested that people dont change their mind very easily, and when they are persuaded to think differently, the effect is usually temporary, he told me. Typically, in a political canvass, an activist might list a bunch of facts or statistics about why the voter should support their cause. An IE may ask its volunteers to canvass via #KnockEveryDoor. Change the conversation from the ground-up with climate deep canvassing Webinar, Climate Advocacy Lab, 2022. Dave Fleischer of The Leadership Lab joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about how he's spent most of his life fighting for equal rights for LGBTQ people and how deep canvassing can help us find common ground and reduce prejudice. We hope to provide both new and seasoned grassroots activists with a quality canvassing training that will allow them to enhance their local power building around whichever issue or candidate of their choice. This tactic is the only thing that has been proven to work on nondiscrimination, so without it we wouldnt have been able to win, they say. If I would have only talked to people who agreed with me, I would have only talked to my mom and dad, he told me. Does this give us any guidance on how to talk to folks we dont agree with? Specifically, the canvasser asks the voter to recall a time when he or she was discriminated against. groups argued that transgender people (or those pretending to be) would pose a threat to children in public restrooms. Insights from Deep Canvassing: Proven Scripts for Transformational Outreach, The New Conversation Initiative, Netroots Nation, 2021 (Video 60 mins). You can do training and prep together prior to canvassing and then come back and debrief afterward. It took a devastating loss at the ballot box for Fleischer to see the political wisdom in heart-to-hearts with strangers. newsletter. Deep Canvassing Script: Voting for Climate in 2022, AYCC, 2022 (4 pg Google Document). But many times this approach underestimates whos persuadable. Center, which houses the Leadership Lab, and proposed an unusual idea to his new colleagues: Canvassers should talk to Prop 8 supporters about why they had voted against same-sex marriage. Our Current Campaigns - The Leadership LAB Her passion for social justice and teambuilding began in the woods of Timber, Oregon, where her family built a large community home around the core value of radical acceptance. But maybe not when it comes to our neighbors. These conversations arent arguments. That means not making assumptions based on the voters age, race or their religion. As a result, our elected officials are reflecting the communities they represent less and less. If they met a voter who wanted to get rid of the law, they wouldnt call them out for prejudice. But through deep canvassing, the activist is able to turn her around. Steve Deline - Netroots Nation Deep Canvassing: 7 Questions with Dave Fleischer Broockman points out that this graph shows the impacts of deep canvassing among all people who came to the door to answer the canvassers questions. Hi, my name is Laura, and Im with the Leadership Lab, Gardiner told Williams, channeling a shy first-time canvasser.