The 3Ws of Political Messaging

The lines are drawn for the November election propaganda blitz.  Both campaigns have their messaging in full swing. 

But much of the political communication we receive will not be directly from the campaigns or political action committees.  It will come from "friends" on social media. So how do we, as individual citizens, share our thoughts in a way that might actually persuade others?

First, we have to understand that political messaging is much easier for conservatives than for liberals. Why is that? Conservatives think more in terms of binary choices.  It is either this or that, with little middle ground.  Liberals think more in terms of shades of grey. 

Separate from the question of conservative or liberal, when people don't know much about a subject, they tend to see the question in simple, not complex terms.  It is well-known that people often think they know more than they do, particularly when they don't really know much about a subject at all.  Teachers know that beginners and neophytes are often more confident in their abilities than they should be. In addition, people who think they know more than they really do are more likely to be deceived by falsehoods (documented in this study).

In any kind of persuasion, including plain old advertising, simple messages persuade best, because most people being persuaded do not have an advanced, complex understanding of the subject.  In academia, using simple, straightforward ideas is called limiting the Syntactic Complexity of the idea. 

This is where the "echo chamber" of 2016 came in. When we talk with like-minded friends, we don't really have to justify or explain our political judgments.  In that kind of communication, persuasion is not a factor.  We may often present what we consider to be evidence for or against a given politician, but it only serves as VALIDATION of jointly-held beliefs, not as persuasion. 

But in PERSUASION about political issues, simple messages, stated clearly, work far better than complex ones. The more black-and-white the issue is framed, the easier it is for the uninformed to grasp, particularly if it is a highly emotional or visceral contrast. If you can't say it in two to four sentences, then it's too complicated for the undecided middle.

What you say needs to be "pithy" -  a lot of meaning in only a few words - and it needs to be stated in a way that no reasonable person would disagree, if your goal is to change the minds of people or help the undecided make up their minds

Combining this strategy with a "call to action" is what works best in social media posts aimed at the undecided.  Your post should be 3-4 sentences of what I call the "3Ws": 1) What is it you are talking about? 2) Why is it important? and 3) What you want people to do as a result? You can include politically-oriented links or memes, but always add your own pithy 3Ws at the top.

Posting for your like-minded friends doesn't require this kind of 3W messaging, but political messaging to persuade does, and persuasion is what it is all about over the next few weeks.