You lost the election. Do you know why? All the platitudes about courage, determination, effort and energy mean a pinch of raccoon dump. You lost. Why?
Here are some notable omissions, mistakes or glaring missteps that I saw made in the campaign and I believe were committed by numerous campaigners. Do a debrief with yourself, with your campaign team to assess the good, the bad and the ugly of your campaign, especially the ugly.
PRESENCE
So what did you look like in every appearance? Be objective and cold sighted. Did you look like the office candidate you were running for ? Professional? Apropo? Appropriate colours? Appropriate apparel? Grooming? Makeup? Carrying appropriate gear, a brief case? Did you project the appearance of the position for which you were running?
Many candidates failed to appear as the person in the office for which they were campaigning. Some needed hair cuts; others looked frumpy. This doesn’t fly in the eyes of voters who judge books by their covers. You lose in an instant.
PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE
No matter how well you think you communicate, it can be polished and refined but is it enough? To see a polished campaigner, just watch the new mayor of Mississauga, Alvin Tedjo. He should give lessons on delivery and speeches: polished, concrete, solid sound bites, one after the other. This guy was thinking and connecting thoughts to his mouth. This is the kind of delivery you should aspire to….many did not. You have to sound intelligent; you have to sound like you know what you are talking about. Errr’s and uhhhh’s don’t cut it. Many candidates sounded like dinner table common talk…this is not what voters want to see or hear…they want high calibre professionalism and some candidates were far from this delivery.
UNDERESTIMATING THE OPPOSITION
This one’s a doozy. It was too easy to focus solely on one’s own campaign and pass on the other campaigner. Too many defeated candidates did not look around at their competitors who may have projected a better presence. This cannot be overlooked. If they sound better, look better, have a more polished presence, you’re dead in the water. Take a hard cold look at yourself, your appearanc and how you talk.
And the “talk” is crucial. You need to practice, practice, practice…in front of a mirror, with a recorder, in front of family, friends, anyone who’ll sit and listen and give you feedback. Campaigning success doesnt come with just a few lawn signs and a few hundred brochures. This is serious business, so treat it that way. It costs you money…want to just throw it away? Then treat your campaign lightly and watch the results.
RACISM/XENOPHOBIA
And here’s the biggy…Armstrong, Ashe, Blair, Brenner, Cook, Cunningham, Pickles…what nationality are they? Race? Those names won. There were no photos on the ballot, no icons, no symbols, nothing other than the name. Those names won; here are some that didn’t: Rasool, Mohammed, Manjra, Parik, Samlalsingh, Vadivel. How do they sound? Don’t go criticizing me for being racist or narrow minded. Those names lost. Full stop. Why?
There is no way we can overcome the racism or xenophobia that likely exists with our voters.
The reason why I insist on name repetition, repetition, repetition is so the name text gets branded into the voters mind and they become very comfortable with it, very comfortable. Bottom line, repeat, repeat, repeat your name so much you begin thinking of changing your birth certificate you are so tired of hearing that name. Don’t. Stick with it. One reason why I never put my name up for offices or positions…..SZPIN…kind of says it all, doesn’t it.
A TEAM IS NEEDED
You cant’t do it alone. Find a team. Create a team. Develop a team. More bodies, more ideas, more energy…more everything. Recruit family, recruit friends, recruit anyone who will help. You don’t need many, just a half dozen or so but with that crew you will achieve much more than with just yourself. Look around, there have to be a few people who will work with you, help you, and support your campaign goal. Find em and get em.
