There are adult men who like My Little Pony. I’ve never met them, but they are out there.
I get the sense more than a few lobbyists are closet Bronies.
Some lobbyists, and their clients, seek to persuade people of their obsessive level of interest in an issue. They act as if there are a lot more people interested in My Little Pony (read any other issue) than there is.
It is something that is unlikely going to persuade most people., let alone an official or politician.
If you come across as obsessed or unhinged in the promotion of your issue, you’ll face the same reaction that most My Little Pony fans get when they talk about it in public. The official or politician is unlikely going to understand a word you are saying. They are, at best, going to find the whole meeting or interaction as plain weird and unsettling. They are going to file you and your cause under the “green ink” folder.
You may well learn that the person does not like the colour pink and purple, and had a traumatic experience with a pony as a child. The plea to join your “My Little Pony Fan Club” falls flat.
And, sometimes you are going to come across an official or politician who has an in-depth knowledge of the political philosophy of My Little Pony. They are going to ask you probing questions. If you are not an expert’s expert, you are going to be asked to leave.
What should a good lobbyist do
A good lobbyist is a good storyteller. They tell their story in words – speaking them in meetings or by writing supporting briefings – so that the human being they are meeting co-opts the position. As a lobbyist, your job is to translate what you want communicate into words and images that speak to your audience.
To do this well, you need to understand the root cause(s) of what is driving action in your area. If you ignore this and get it wrong, you are going to go down a whole path of action, and near the end, realise you have gone down the wrong path. If your words don’t mean anything to your audience, and just speak to your client, you are wasting your time.
Your story needs to communicate to 3 audiences at once:
- The politician making or influencing the decision
- The adviser/official holding to the pen
- The expert on the file
You’ll be in for a shock if you think the expert is making the decision.
As a lobbyist, your job is about persuading people, mainly officials and politicians, by translating ideas through the tools of writing, images and speaking.
Most decisions are taken on the basis of the written brief. If you can’t persuade through a 1 page written brief the reason why an official or politician should back you, your chances of getting them to back you are low. The idea that what you say in a meeting or a call is so memorable and persuasive that an official or politician will back you there and then, shows a misalignment between your perception that you are the reincarnation of Cicero and reality.
You need to engage with the right people, at the right time and in the right way. You need to know the rules of how decisions and laws are made. If not, you’ll go down the wrong path, and realise near the end of the journey, that you have gone down the wrong way.
It is key that you step in at the right time, not too early and not too late. You need to provide the right people, with the right information, at the right time. Act as a translator, and speak a language about an issue so your audience understands.
Don’t talk about your interest in My Little Pony.Just because you, hair friends, and all your colleagues, are fascinated in it, does not mean that real decision makers and influencers are.