Ned’s Tips for Outreach

Tabling

1). Be active and not passive–People will walk by if the person is passive. Be polite and invite them to exchange dialogue.

2). Be prepared–Always have a clipboard and blank tablet of paper to get names, addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses. This in turn will be given to a contact person in the local chapter.

2b). Be prepared to have enough articles to present to the people who may be interested in the party.

3). Use any opportunity to raise funds and ask for donations. A receipt book is essential.

Canvassing/Leafleting/Petitioning

1). Be polite and take as little time as possible by being to the point.

2). Scripts to memorize are a good idea, so that the canvasser is as prepared as possible. Even if the canvasser is good enough to present information without a script, it is good to have a cheat sheet of issues to support a debate or argument.

3). Literature, literature, literature– The more information that there is on the Green Party, the better.

4). Use this and any opportunity to raise funds and ask for donations. A receipt book is essential.

5). Always be prepared to find out whether or not the audience is a prospective member. Have a membership sign up sheet ready and waiting.

PS It never hurts to dress up a bit.

However there are some pitfalls to avoid when working with the public. Avoid doing these, in order to leave a favorable impression.

Don’ts of Outreach

1). Do not argue with a person. This wastes time and people are left with a negative impression toward the group. If they are not interested move on to the next person. Why talk to five who are not interested, when you can speak to 15 who are.

2). Do not personalize any comments. People may be rude to the canvasser, as it does happen. The canvasser should just move on an not personalize the rejection.

3). Do not act on prejudice and speak to obvious prospects. Looks can be deceiving. That is an easy ways to miss prospective members.

4). Do no speak about topics and issues that may be unfamiliar. It is ok to say, “I don’t know.”

Hopefully these tips will be helpful to you when working on outreach. This is the party of the people and this why it is so important to be interactive and visible. Through outreach, the Green Party will gain exposure to the general population. This will help us grow as people see that there is nothing radical about placing people’s rights over the rights of the multinational corporate powers that be.