Political Schmooze

Last Sunday was a great day: the Bears won, the sky was blue…and I went door to door asking for support for a local politician. If you are looking for schmooze experience, and you have not yet tried political campaigning, sign up for a candidate you like and get ready to go on a schmooze adventure of a lifetime.

It was really brilliant. My friend picked out an area that was pretty homogeneous: an elderly gated community.  This meant we were interrupting people watching the Bears game and spending time with their children and grand children on a beautiful Sunday. While my friend insisted we only go to the homes who are listed as registered voters of the  candidate’s party, I went ahead and went to as many doors as possible.  We only needed to get her on ballot, and a signature wouldn’t hurt anybody.

Without going into the details of the whole experience, I want to brag that I got the most signatures that day, beating out my friend and the candidate herself.  Hopefully my advice will be relevant to any networking/soliciting you may have to do in your career or career search.

1.Smile a lot. It sounds corny, but a smile really disarms people, especially if they are not so enthusiastic about your knocking at their door. I work in a call center dealing with issues of health & welfare, and everyday my coworkers and I are told that people can tell if you are smiling on the phone. And it’s true!  When I remember to smile while assisting people with their health care concerns, they are significantly more patient with me and less agitated with their situation. The key thing is to smile and be gracious even when you are put under pressure or are flat out rejected- it shows your own internal strength and warrants respect. You may not get the signature or donation, but that individual will not leave with a negative association of you.

2.Speak slowly and be focused.  You are interrupting their day. Period.  You better know exactly what you want and how to express it or you’ve wasted both their and your time. This comes along side with having confidence.

3. Show confidence. Even if you are not confident about the specific action or task, act & think like this is what you were born to do. People smell fear, and they won’t take you seriously.  It’s hard to be confident when you are doing something for the first time, so you have to forgive yourself ahead of time for the inevitable mistakes that you will make, and just know that you can learn more from those mistakes than your successes.

4. Be polite and know when to give up.  When someone would reject my request for a signature, I’d politely ask again with emphasis that this doesn’t commit them, and even go as far as making it seem like a personal favor.  If you are still rejected, remember that “no” means “no for now” and leave a good impression with the individual in case you may return for another campaign project.   It’s important to know when to cut your losses so your energy isn’t exerted uselessly.  Politeness will let you keep your dignity despite the rejection.

Political campaigning is a great schmooze experience because it forces you to meet a lot of people in a really short period of time.  Every new home is a new experience, and despite any rejections you might get from some individuals, you have to push the “refresh” button with every new door you knock on and start with a brand new, sincere smile.

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