Political Blues: Better Communication

Yesterday I talked about how many people are getting burned out with political status updates on Facebook. I even talked about ways to block them. However, I felt that many people who feel that they should post about and discuss their political views would find it frustrating and counter-productive if my only solution to the issue was just to have people ignore them. In their interest and in  the interest of stronger political discourse, I'll offer some hints on how NOT to be obnoxious with your political posts.

• NO ONE LIKES A ONE TRACK MIND. Okay, so you feel very strongly about the state of politics in this world. I get it. Most of us do. However,  if that is all you talk about, you aren't making your points so much as you are just coming off as obsessive. Look at your social media updates. Are more than half of them about politics? Do you find ways to turn even an innocent comment into a political statement? Do you comment on people's pictures of their kids with messages of how those kids won't have a future if X is president?
  
  If so, you are boring the shit out of people. When they see your name on a comment, they aren't revving up to read how you managed to their nonpoltical status about going to Taco Bell into a full fledged war about immigration. Instead, when they see your name, their bracing themselves for whatever mess you have probably started.
  
  Now think about that. Your political message is being approached with feelings of apprehension and dread. How well do you think that message is going to come across? The best solution here is just to make some rules about how often you will post about political things. Once a day is okay. Once a week is better. In fact, best would be to have a political blog that you just give a link to on occasion. That way your politics is seen by those who choose to see it and not by just everyone who happens to be your friend.
  
• SHARE WHO YOU ARE, NOT JUST THE ASPECT OF YOU THAT IS POLITICAL. I'm going to be honest with you here. When I see someone who JUST posts political stuff, unless I know enough about them to decide otherwise, the impression I usually have of them is that they are insecure. They want to be seen and heard, but don't feel comfortable enough to really share themselves. They want to seem well-informed and deep, but don't want to risk revealing too much of their inner thoughts. So they hide behind politics.
  
  I'm not talking about over-sharing here. I don't want to hear private details about your intimate life.  But, you know, real stuff about you. Talk about what makes you happy (that isn't politics), talk about how you feel about the time of year (and not what it has to do with elections), or discuss what is going to make you happy in the near future (but not something that has to do with politics).
  
  I have a friend who is very funny and insightful. She posts about her garden, her animals, and her day-to-day life. I know what she is looking forward to, what is currently making her happy, and what she holds to be the firm foundation of her life. At the same time, she posts a lot of political stuff. However, because I get to read all this other stuff about her as well, I'm not turned off by the political posts, because I know they are just a small part of all I will get from her.
  
• DO NOT CONSTANTLY BLAST THE OPPOSING PARTY AND ITS PEOPLE. If you want to discuss politics, do so in a way that invokes positive responses. Talk about the merits of your candidate. Outline their plans and how they will improve things. Give examples of their successes from the past.
  
  Because, when you JUST post about how evil the opposing party is, you don't come off as a mature adult. In fact, when you read one of these long posts with lots of comments attached to it, it often looks like it was written with the venom extracted from mean girl 7th graders. It's just catty and spiteful and completely uncalled for. And yes, I know I can be catty and spiteful as well. I tend to do that in the blog though, where, again, people can come and read if they choose to do so. It's not being inflicted on everyone on some social media site.
  
• NO ONE WANTS TO BE ON THE SAME SIDE AS THE JERKS. Remember that when you are promoting a cause, you become a representative of that cause. The more personable and likable you are, the better your chances of finding allies. The more annoying you are . . . well, no one wants to side with the annoying people.
  
  With this in mind, it is important to always remember the image you are projecting when you discuss politics. Are you coming off as charming and trustworthy? Will you be perceived as rational and level-headed? Or are you coming off as some blowhard bully who is trying to force others to believe as they do?
  
  Like it or not, a lot of people vote emotionally. There are a lot of voters who end up choosing the side that annoyed them the least. For them, it really is the lesser of two evils.
  
  When we communicate with each other, we aren't just doing so with our reason.  We also communicate on an emotional level. If you can establish a rapport with someone, if you can find common ground or promote positive feelings, then what you have to say about politics is going to be taken in a much better light.
  
  At the same time, you don't want to JUST make emotional appeals. Most people are savvy enough to know you're just trying to manipulate them. Use logic in your arguments, but choose words that evoke emotions of receptiveness and comfort. Engage people in the conversation, don't just rant at them. 

After this election is finished, one side is going to be sitting around wondering where things went wrong.  If they are smart, they won't start blaming others or looking for conspiracy theories. That will get them no where. Instead, hopefully, they will consider how they pitched their message and analyze how it was perceived. If they do this, they will begin to see how a lot of why they lost had to do with a breakdown in communication between the party and the voters. If they're smart, they'll start finding ways to change that.

See, this is what I hope happens. More than likely, it won't. They'll blame the media or blame a certain segment of voters or blame funding or just the system as a whole. The people who post about political stuff on Facebook will continue to do so in their abrasive and overbearing way, only now they will make snide comments about how the country is falling apart but it isn't THEIR fault because THEY didn't vote for X who is now president. And everyone else will be annoyed at their snideness and vow never to vote on their side ever.