Make an Impression: 3 Ways to Make Them Care About Your Data

There's no easy, soft way to tell you this. So here goes.

No one cares about your data.

Now, let me clarify a bit. I'm not saying your data isn't important. I'm not questioning its validity. And I'm certainly not claiming that good data can't drive better policy decisions. In fact, quite the opposite. Sound data, asking the right questions, and informing the debate are crucial if we're going to level up our performance of advocates.

But data and jargon both hold the potential to throw up a barrier between you and a target in the advocacy world. When we acknowledge that reality we can take active steps to mitigate the risk that our message gets lost in transmission. We can start to remind ourselves: what we need to say may be important, but how we deliver it is significant.

Significance is a different game altogether. Significance is the difference between completing a pass and completing the game winning pass. Significance leaves a lasting impression. If you want to generate those lasting impressions, below are a few ways you can get there.

Plan to Speak in Terms that Matter to Them

Advocates are passionate. We know our issues inside and out - many of us because we've lived with the fallout that accompanies bad policies. But all of that passion can pigeon hole the way we frame conversations. Without a conscious effort, we can often place our own important issues at the center of a conversation without ever asking: "how does this relate to what they care about?"

It's easy to fall into this trap. It's made all the easier by our efforts to distill complex issues into bite-sized talking points. And in many ways those talking points are incredibly valuable. But, strict adherence to the messaging on the page in front of us isn't the way to develop a discourse. No, it sets us up for a monologue.

If you want to stand out as an advocate, you have to take specific steps to make sure you don't come up short in this way. Spend time getting to know the issues that matter most to your targets. How can you connect your goals to theirs? Develop a running set of notes about your conversations with them. What questions are they asking? Is there a theme? By accumulating that intel on what they want, you'll be able to better evolve your talking points to a new version that more closely relates to what your target sees as meaningful.

Tell a Story with Significance

Confident storytellers are a wonderful resource. Those who can spin a yarn really do have a leg up in the relationship building game.

But we all don't have it. I certainly don't. It's something I've always been self-conscious about. I'm constantly reading the folks around me to see if my story isn't hitting. I'm trying to be self aware. But I consistently come up short.

Except when I remember another great acronym: CRAM.

Clear, Relevant, Actionable & Measurable.

Good stories in advocacy don't leave the listener searching for what matters. They are tailored to the known needs of a listener, they deliver a call to action, and they set up a way to continue the conversation in the future.

When a good story is clear, the listener walks away knowing there is something that matters to the people in their district. When it is relevant, the listener knows that the way to be the hero in the story fits within their job description. If it's actionable, that means there is an observable path forward. And if the action spurred by the story is measurable, you set up a path toward accountability and future discourse.

You don't have to cram the story down their throats - but crafting a short story that meets these standards sets you up for an ask that meets the same guidance. You can mirror the story telling with the call to action you have for the listener. And that rhythm activates their brain to retain more of what you say. Tell a good story, and make it significant: make it clear, ensure it's relevant, draw a straight line to the action you're seeking, and communicate how success can be measured.

Value Their Time

This last observation goes to how we can consistently build credibility with others. It's near and dear to my heart. And those in my circle have heard me say this too many times to mention. But we only have one truly non-renewable resource in each of our lives: time.

Time is precious. Even more so when you get the rare opportunity to sit in front of a decision-maker in the policy world. Just how precious?

If you take the total number of constituents for a member of congress, and gave them an equal amount of time with that member every year, each of those constituents would get 45 seconds. Forty-five. And that's if we never let the representative stop to eat, sleep, or hit the head.

So when you've gotten a 15 minute coffee meeting instead of the hour you'd hoped for, have a plan. In other posts, and in my live trainings, I share some simple planning tactics that how you can maximize meetings of any length. Sometimes, those 15 minute coffees turn into 8 minute walks to the floor for a vote. Sometimes, they turn into 45 minutes with a staffer instead. Regardless of the time you get, having a sound plan will help ensure you don't waste it.

One Final Thought

These three tools are simply that. They are tactics you can utilize in a very practical way. The real challenge comes not with implementing these, but understanding that they're part of a much, much bigger picture. When we're trying to make an impression, there is absolutely no substitute for consistently showing up.

You'll have meetings that flop. You'll have targets who ignore you. You'll have issues where you run against the wall over, and over again. But you can't make an impression if you're not willing to accept that reality.

This is why I talk about skillful advocacy as both cumulative and iterative. It takes reps and learning from the times we come up short. It requires us evolving what we do, what we say, and how we say it. And it is terribly uncomfortable. But when we commit to improving at it, showing up will be both important and significant.?