Canvassing tips?

[Allen72289]

I'll be hitting the pavement tomorrow to help get RP supporters to the precinct meeting to sign up as delegates.

What are some good tips?

[deanne]

when i was going door to door in my area (if that's what you'll be doing), my opening line was, "hi, my name's deanne and i live just down the road..." people like that, meet your neighbors kind of thing. it totally diffuses the defense people naturally put up. several of them stepped out on their porch to talk with me, and one invited me into her house to chat.

[therealjjj77]

just be sincere in your concern as an American for our country, get THEM talking about THEIR issues and then present Ron Paul on their issues.

[rancher89]

just be sincere in your concern as an American for our country, get THEM talking about THEIR issues and then present Ron Paul on their issues.

double plus on this one, LISTEN !!!

Plus keep it short and sweet, you've got lots of houses to go to! How are you on literature and signs?

[rancher89]

just be sincere in your concern as an American for our country, get THEM talking about THEIR issues and then present Ron Paul on their issues.

double plus on this one, LISTEN !!!

Plus keep it short and sweet, you've got lots of houses to go to! How are you on literature and signs? We've been promised lit and signs from GA after Tuesday, so get with your meetup and let us know.

SC will get the signs and they will make their way up to us along the border

Charlotte Ron Paul 2008 meetup here, but I know that other meetups along the border are collecting materials also. We should be getting are own from the campaign soon......

[GunnyFreedom]

we need a "shared map" where the user can click on the selected parcel. Take notes.

[GunnyFreedom]

when you hit a live contact, click on the parcel. Describe their concerns.

I find something that works well is to tell them that Ron Paul wants to know what concerns them. Let them tell you. Tell them you believe Ron Paul is the answer to their dillemma. Produce targeted lit. Discuss the lit with them.

What would be awesome is for everyone to carry an iPod touch. Load with videos and maps and Ron Paul media. Find their issue and then present a video. Then touch their parcel on the iPod and make notes on the contact. Display hot/cold in gradations from red to blue. We could do this in XML on Darwin, I think. With a SQL server handling the multi synch. Programmers?

[GunnyFreedom]

This is not a script but an outline.

Going door to door, I usually open, "My name is Glen Bradley, and I am canvassing your neighborhood in advance of the upcoming Presidential Primary. Were you planning on voting on May 8th?

"Well, I am a volunteer on behalf of Congressman Ron Paul, who is running for President in 2008, and President Paul and I would like to learn what issues are important to you?"

Identify with them, and then discuss Ron Paul's platform from their point of view. Leave them with literature and ask for their vote.

(If we had iPod touch units here loaded with video, we could take a "play count" to rate which issue-videos get the highest hits. Thus gaining feedback from the electorate general during the canvass.)

Your situation is a little different, recruiting delegates. I would pull them from the wider crowd of already known RP supporters. You may be able to get a donors list for your precinct from NHQ.

[FireofLiberty]

One tip I can offer is to know the person you're going to talk to before you talk to them. How? Look at any signs in their yard, stickers on their windows and the back of their vehicles, flags, etc. Maybe they have a POW flag or a VFW sticker on the back of their truck. Maybe their screen door has NRA stickers on it. They could have a costume license plate (especially true in NC where you can get so many now it's almost ridiculous) or a bumper sticker for another candidate for another office.

Based on these things you can know the kinds of things to bring up them. If they have a POW or VFW sticker or flag or whatever, for instance, stress Dr. Paul's support of our Veterans and that he himself is a Veteran. Talk about his fight to get information released about POWs (and, if you run into a McCain supporter, talk about McCain standing in the way of this). And be sure to hand them a Veterans for Ron Paul slim jim (and a Gun Owners for Ron Paul one too while you're at it) if you have one.

[WilliamC]

Very few of the people I spoke with on my first canvassing go round volunteered to talk about any specific issues when I asked them.

I think tomorrow I'll just leave the flyer on the front door and try to cover as many houses as possible rather than knock and talk.

I stamped my name and cell number on the flyers so if someone is interested they can call me for more info.

Of course if I see someone I'll talk, but I've got a lot of houses to cover and only weekends to do it.

If I can manage to get most of my precinct done there are neighborhoods not too far away that have a much higher population density that I really want to canvass too.

But I'll do what I can..

[GunnyFreedom]

Garland is a hard charger, he helped more than you can know in South Carolina. Listen to him, he knows about canvassing. He is right! Always look for telltale clues on the way up to the door so you know roughly what issues to kick off on if they are not volunteering information.

Also, if they are not home or will not answer the door, it is good to be able to leave specific lit.