Methods of Persuasion
Key community members One great way to begin persuading a neighbourhood is to approach key community members identified in your demographic research.  Through one-on-one sessions or a small group meeting, explain your intent and why their role in the project is critical.  These will eventually be the people to lead the community in workshops, skill development and social networking.  Enthusiasm is contagious - energize your key members and instruct them on presentation methods. Community Meetings Community meetings offer an opportunity to pitch the concept to a large number of people at once.  Consensus can be quickly obtained for the entire community, however, personal interaction is reduced.   Information booths Similar to a science fair, information booths and displays allow for an up-close-and-personal look at the proposal, and one-on-one interaction between the presenter and community members.  Displays should be interactive and graphic heavy to draw the most attention. Community newsletter A sure-fire way to reach each member of the community, but no guarantee exists that they will read the information.  Something very text-heavy can be daunting even for the most enthused individual - keep it short, simple and clean.  Perhaps this is an opportunity for advertisement and the first "hook", used in conjunction with other means of persuasion. Door-to-door campaign If orchestrated correctly with respected community members, this method can prove very successful.  However, a huge amount of time is required to reach the entire neighbourhood, and it may appear that you are acting as a salesperson instead of a concerned member of the community.   Word-of-mouth If endorsed by key members, word-of-mouth can sway a large number of individuals similar to personal endorsements.  A cautionary note is the content of the message - it is impossible to control conversations and ensure their correctness. Posters and community advertising campaigns Similar to community newsletters, these techniques can be the first "hook" to another form of information dissemination.  These media, however, are graphic-heavy instead of text-laden, and can be quickly understood by the viewer. Next Page