3 lessons from the DNC on how to energize folks for a better future

People often ask us for examples of Strategic CaseMaking? in the real world. And over the years, we’ve gathered amazing illustrations of how leaders all over the country are using the skills and principles of CaseMaking to advance justice in housing, education, health care, and many other facets of life.

But watching the Democratic National Convention this week is a master class on a whole different scale. The Democrats and the Harris campaign clearly understand the social science of persuasion that is baked into CaseMaking--—and they’re using it to great effect to build a bigger, stronger, and more energized coalition for justice.

The effect is magical, but what they’re doing is not magic. Leaders like you can learn how to do it, too. I know, because we’ve taught scores of people to persuade differently and bring new energy to their causes.

Even more exciting, the DNC shows how a whole movement of people can use CaseMaking together.

There are many, many powerful CaseMaking examples I’m taking away from the DNC this week. Here are the 3 that stand out to me most:

“We’re not going back.”

It’s impossible to miss the energy behind the future-focused vision being described in authentic and emotional terms by so many of the speakers at the DNC. And they are laying it out using a persuasion skill called the “two tomorrows” that we practice a lot in CaseMaking.

In one tomorrow, we are joyfully and collectively solving the important and very real challenges that are facing us, our kids, and our grandkids, and building a healthier, safer, fairer country for everyone.

In the other tomorrow, we continue to be poisoned by grievance and division and are unable to agree on even the most basic steps to get ready for the challenges we know are already shaping the future for generations to come.

In his short speech, Pete Buttigieg calls his two tomorrows the choice between “darkness” and a “better every day.” Here’s another short example from Josh Shapiro.?The ways the different speakers choose to personalize this rhetorical tool with language that is authentic to them makes the overall effect so much more powerful.

“When we fight, we win.”

I don’t know about you, but I have an emotional reaction every time I see the massive crowd at the United Center do that call and response. So many of us in America have a deeply engrained belief in our own powerlessness after years and years of being told that the system is hopelessly rigged. That’s just the way it is, we shrug.

While the system certainly advantages some people over others, we forget (or were never taught) that it was rigged by human hands. And we have the ability to re-rig it to benefit everyone.

As DrT says in principle 8 of Strategic CaseMaking?, we have got to talk people back into their power.?

Here’s an example from the great Michelle Obama:

Our fate is in our hands. In 77 days, we have the power to turn our country away from the fear, division, and smallness of the past. We have the power to marry our hope with our action. We have the power to pay forward the love, sweat, and sacrifice of our mothers and fathers and all those who came before us. We did it before, y’all, and we sure can do it again.

“Here's how our plan benefits you.”

As the convention gets closer to wrapping up, the Democrats are rolling out a concrete platform meant to achieve their lofty vision for a better future.

So far, I’m excited to see that they are staying away from the typical policy-speak that leaves regular people unable to connect the dots back to their own lives.?To convince people to join our journey—to choose our “tomorrow”—we have to build that clear roadmap for folks and show them what success will look like along the way.

Here’s how Tim Walz did it on Wednesday:

I think we owe it to the American people to tell them exactly what [Kamala Harris would] do as president before we ask them for their votes. If you’re a middle-class family or a family trying to get into the middle class, Kamala Harris is going to cut your taxes. If you’re getting squeezed by prescription drug prices, Kamala Harris is going to take on Big Pharma. If you’re hoping to buy a home, Kamala Harris is going to help make it more affordable. And no matter who you are, Kamala Harris is going to stand up and fight for your freedom to live the life that you want to lead.

Kamala Harris takes the stage tonight to make the closing argument on the case for her presidency. I can't wait to see what she says. But the evidence everyone else—from Oprah to Amanda Gorman to Barack Obama to Hillary Clinton—has laid out already makes it feel like an open and shut case.

Want to know more about CaseMaking in the real world? Go to our Knowledge Center and click on each principle to learn the skills needed to practice it and explore examples.