The Art of Persuasion. Pinnacle Communications training. Wednesday 18 April.
Workshop 3 your Stakeholder involvement ...
The Art of Persuasion Pinnacle Communications training Wednesday 18 April Workshop 3 your Stakeholder involvement
What are you communications objectives? Change public opinion Educate policy makers Influence legislation
Modify people’s behaviour
Pitch for funding for an initiative
Examples of public affairs challenges • • • • •
Change legislation Maintain status quo Modify attitudes Head-off problems Secure consultation
Does lobbying differ geographically? • Completely! It depends largely on the: • Government or authority structures • Processes/procedures • Stakeholders and their importance on the process
What’s the issue? • Determining if the issue is in fact a problem for your organisation • Analysing the issue • Establishing the best-case and worst-case scenario
Lobbying environment Opinion formers
Business partners
Customers
Chambers of commerce
Trade & industry Organisation Government s
NGOs
Commercial targets
Regional & local community
Professional groups
Identifying targeted decision-makers • Direct targets • Indirect targets
Identifying targeted stakeholders • Who are the opinion formers? • How do they affect your lobbying efforts? • Do any of these stakeholder groups change depending on whether the issue is local, regional or national?
Stakeholder categories • Customers • Suppliers • Partners • ...
• Employees • Management • Contractors • ...
9
• Media • Analysts • Commentators • ...
Direct
Indirect
Internal
Latent • NGOs • Consumer organisations • ...
What do we need to know?
Familiarity:
Favourability:
• what do they know?
• how do they feel?
Opinion drivers:
Channels of influence:
• what do they care about?
• who do they listen to?
The influence – interest grid High influence + high interest =high priority
Influence
Influence/Interest
Not interested + not influential = low priority
Interest 11
The involvement – attitude grid Involvement Enemies: go out of their way to undermine you
Champions: go out of their way to support you
Willing helpers: happy to support if you engage them
Cynics: criticise when opportunity presents
Against
Neutrals not engaged; waiting to see how it goes
For
Message - audience matrix Stakeholder audience
Think now
Should think
Basic message
Proof
The Case • Develop many arguments: • Employ the appropriate arguments to bring around undecided or opposition decision-makers to your point of view
Workshop • What are you going to talk to decisions makers about? • What is your message? • What are your proof points?
Tactics - advocacy • Advocacy and influencing • Present your case in a way to lead the decisionmaker to reach their own decision
Do’s and don’ts
Rules to lobby by 1) Align your interests with those of decision-maker • Speak in terms of effects – effects on voters, employers and employees • Understand role of media in consumer centric campaigns
Rules to lobby by 2) Do your research • Know your issue • Know your policy process, including the timing & rules • Know your key stakeholders • Know the key decision-makers, their background & when to call them
Rules to lobby by 3) Lobbying is about the exchange of information • Be prepared to give the legislator information he or she can use. • Provide evidence-based information
Rules to lobby by 4) Professionalism is the way to go: • Ability to respond to new information is a critical step • Never offer something you can later not deliver • Provide full transparency of who you are, what you are there for • Be able to spell out your position in a few sentences
Rules to lobby by 5) Be positive: • Offer positive scenarios – why changing something is a positive step • Make your case without being critical of others’ personalities or motives • Explain why support is in the best interest of the decisionmaker
Rules to lobby by 6) There are no permanent friends or enemies: • Don't take your traditional friends for granted. • Approach different political parties • Lobbying is ultimately a business, albeit a very personal one • Lobbying is in a special network – all the parts eventually work together at some point
Rules to lobby by 7) Build a bond, not a gap: • Create easy, friendly, frequent communication with the legislators • Prepare to devote energy and resources to maintaining the relationship • Maintain active networking programme
Rules to lobby by 8) Be a partner: • Look for allies among other organisations. • Be accessible to legislators and other lobbyists if they have questions or need follow-up information. • Insert yourself as a main protagonists of an issue
Rules to lobby by 9) Rome wasn't built in a day: • Aim for consensus rather than "victory" • Settle for making progress toward your goal, getting the legislation passed, & fine tuning it in future • Be prepared to build in pressure release mechanisms (review periods, sunset clauses, monitoring mechanisms, devolved detail to regulators, etc.) • Keep the mission as main objective, be flexible on tactics
Rules to lobby by 10) Stay committed: • Politics forms short term battles, but long term gains require years • Continue building your base when the immediate issue is over • Prepare systems that gauge your influence on the debate – refine and improve your approach during “down time”
How NOT to impress 1) Come in too early or too late • Know your policy process and timing
How NOT to impress
2) Having unclear or inconsistent arguments & messages • Or arguments that do not relate to the appropriate policy context
How NOT to impress
3) Being too technical or too fluffy • Match your communications to the style of the decisionmaker
How NOT to impress 4) Being long-winded • Get straight to the point • Bring a clear position paper
How NOT to impress 5) Minimising or down-playing the decision-maker’s concerns • Seek immediately to find common ground and keep it
How NOT to impress 6) Not knowing your decisionmaker • Tailor your messages and use those which you know resonate with your target
Conclusions
Key strategic approaches Whether intending to inform, change attitudes or affect a change, techniques: 1) Thought leadership or policy shaping • Expert with experience • Non-lobbying element is greater
Key strategic approaches 2) Advisory • Requires close relationship with decision-maker • Advises decision- maker on debate, inputs from other actors
3) Coalition • Wider entity • Sharing information, combining strategies
Key strategic approaches 4) Grassroots – building up local support • Indirect lobbying • More campaign mode lobbying
5) Changing the stage – about shifting debate to better arena • Delaying legislation for new government • Better for difficult issues that are no win for decision-makers
Public affairs campaigns
Campaign timetable • Set a timetable for the entire campaign, based on regular deliverables and defined by resources available • Co-ordinate with the legislative calendar • The timetable should be agreed by all involved and not deviated from except when absolutely necessary
Assign tasks • List all the tasks imaginable during the life of the campaign • Assign all tasks to team members • Set up a communications link to meet regularly
Constant checking & updating • Continuous monitoring of legislative landscape • After a campaign is launched, the legislative timetable is likely to change • Keep up with changes because tools & tactics must link to the legislative landscape
Ethics
Ethics • Jurisdiction matters! • Is lobbying regulated? • Rules governing politicians, government officials and staff
EU • Access to Parliament regulated • Public register of lobbyists • Members’ code of conduct
