By Zachary Roberts
Discussing politics is often seen as a grueling experience, one you should shy away from whenever possible. The same is often thought to be true for the canvassers who go door to door every few years in order to ask for your support, but in my experience when you follow several steps, political discussion even with strangers can be a fun and engaging experience. These tricks are not just applicable to canvassers, who are seldom seen outside of election periods, but as well to a colleague who is interested in hearing your thoughts, navigating awkward holiday dinners with politically talkative family members, or any other instance.
But what are these tips? There are three of them, one for the beginning middle and end of conversation, all designed to help guide you through political discussion easily.
Election night: Where talking politics with strangers paid off, and got people out to vote!
The first tip I have for political conversations is to make it personal. Now, what I mean by this is not to bring up topics you think they care about, but instead ask whoever it is you are speaking to what issues they want to talk about. When I was canvassing, I had a woman answer her door who told me she cared about housing programs for the homeless and youth as she had a son who was struggling to find housing in the Toronto market. Now I would not have assumed that this older woman in a lovely home was interested in youth housing initiatives, but thanks to my asking, I was able to give her the information she was looking for, and have a productive talk.
But what about when you meet someone who is confrontational, and insists on correcting each mistake you make? Well, here is where step two comes in, which is to make sure whatever issues you are talking about, you are educated on them. I am not asking you be a master in all subjects, knowing every single detail about your political party of choice, but at the very least if you are talking to someone about a policy, or plan proposed be able to say who the parties involved are, what they are doing, and how it will affect others, not just the two of you talking. If you ever are unsure of what to say, make sure to give them where you got your information, so they can then find it themselves. It is these aspects which are important to ensuring you have a fruitful discussion, rather than it devolving into an argument over talking points. I had this tip help me when I was discussing with an older gentleman who came to the door, insistent on the party I was supporting’s platform being anti-elderly, and yet thanks to my knowledge of each party’s plans for seniors care, I was able to help guide them to where they can find out more.
Not only did I get to enjoy in beneficial talks with strangers about politics, something I did not expect, but I also got to walk around places in Toronto I had never seen, and see some new sights!
Now the experiences I have mentioned so far ended rather well for me, I must admit. The one woman and I had a lengthy discussion about the way’s politicians should help youth looking for their first home, and the second the gentleman agreed that he should do more research. We did not have an argument, but we had a conversation where we disagreed. This is the third tip: to make sure you are having a discussion, and if at any point you feel it’s devolving into an argument, leave. I had one gentleman answer the phone and start screaming all sorts of profanity and insults once I told him what party I was with. He was wrong in the claims he was making, I know because I had a sheet of the platform in front of me, but I was not going to say that. I knew I could not change his mind and so I wished him a good day and hung up.
Even though I had a bad experience when canvassing, I did not let it ruin my day. I took a short lunch break and kept making calls, and by the end of those calls, I had nearly forgotten about that one bad experience.
I hope that with these skills you can navigate your own political discussions and find them as fruitful as I have. It is thanks to these skills, and the many kind and involved people I met working the election that I am not happy to discuss politics with people whenever they want, and not be afraid of it devolving into arguments.
All Images taken by me, all subjects are property of their respective owners.