How candidates influence voters before the first debate
Candidates influence voters long before any policy debate, through first impressions. Most voters will only ever meet you on a screen, so your digital footprint comes first. In seconds, voters scan your appearance, behavior and communication for two things above all: competence, and the sense that you genuinely care.
If you had only seven seconds to make someone trust you, believe in you and vote for you, how would you use them?
Will your first impression affect how people vote if you are running for local office? Yes. Your first impression shapes the decisions everyone makes about you, whether you are a government official, a doctor or a sales professional.
It always comes back to the ABCs: your appearance, your behavior and your communication. Voters build their first impression of you around them, and as a candidate, they are what you can work with. New to the idea? Start with how people decode first impressions.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Most voters will never meet you in person, so your digital footprint is your real first impression.
- Deliver your core messages in short, memorable soundbites that work with and without words.
- Your secondary persona lets you speak to different voter groups without pretending to be someone else.
- Voters look for competence first, and for the feeling that you care.
- Your opponent, your campaign team and your family all shape how voters see you.
Why your digital footprint is how you influence voters first
Today, possibly the most important part of your first impression is your digital footprint. Here is why.
The vast majority of voters will never have the pleasure of meeting you in person. Whether you run for local office or the White House, voters mostly get a sense of your character through their screens: your website, your social media, your email campaigns and any media coverage. They are flooded with posts, photos and videos in which they read your appearance, behavior and communication style. And if they are not flooded with yours, chances are they are flooded with your opponent’s.
So everything you put out there needs to work in soundbites. Time is an expensive asset, especially online. People do not want to sit through a long video. They want to know who you are, fast.
Think about how to send your core messages in quick, easy-to-digest, but impactful verbal and nonverbal signals, and where to share them. Short, almost tweetable, and still true to your core values. What will you do? What do you care about? Tell a short story, be engaging, and above all be creative. How could your story come across without any words at all?
Which voters do you attract with your first impression?
Next, think about your image. My course How You Resonate helps you find your primary and secondary persona, in other words how others most likely read you at first sight. Your primary persona is how you naturally come across. Your secondary persona still aligns with your true self and style, but sends a different message.
That matters in politics. If you run for a conservative party, you probably want to appeal visually and verbally to a different group than if you run for a more liberal one. That does not mean changing who you are, how you look, behave or speak. It means playing with your secondary persona to send subtle signals to the voters who identify with it.
Do not change who you are. Play with your secondary persona to reach the voters who see themselves in it.
What are voters subconsciously looking for?
Voters prefer candidates with the personality traits they would like to see in themselves. But they hold you to a higher standard, so you need to amplify your signals, and above all, signal competence.
Competence
Competence usually tops the list of qualities voters want in the people who represent them. They want to know you will get things done, including the things they do not fully understand or care to understand in detail, and that you will use your voice to represent them and their ideals. Most voters have neither the time nor the patience to judge your competence by your work, so they take a shortcut. How can you shape your appearance, behavior and communication so voters see you as competent instantly?
Care
Competence ranks highest, but it can shift with the situation or the occasion. How voters perceive you also depends heavily on their own circumstances during your campaign. That is why they want to feel, instantly, that you care.
If everybody wants you to care about them and their problems, how can you stand for anything in particular? Simple. Take care of yourself first, and you show others you are fit to take care of them. If you look as if you do not keep yourself mentally and physically in shape, people will not feel they can rely on you.
Balance
When you invest time and money in, for example, your appearance, be careful with luxury. Voters want someone successful, but they also notice the brands and designers you support, the coaches you hire and the investments you make in yourself. It speaks to your values, and it puts a price tag on you. Voters use that price tag to guess how you would spend public money once elected. As always, it is about balance.
Who else shapes how voters see you?
Pay as much attention to your opponent as you do to yourself, because voters watch your opponent too, and they watch how you deal with each other. How you react to them, critique them and attack them all influences voters. Be mindful of what you put out there.
And remember, you are not a one-person team. The people on your campaign team and in your personal life shape how others see you, and with it your chances of winning the race. Stay very aware of how other people’s actions affect your image. Be careful whom you bring onto your team, and agree with your family, friends and campaign staff on how to protect your image together.
Want to go deeper? Read my conversation with political consultant Jay Townsend on what it takes when you run for office, and my talk with Brad Weisman about politics and social media.
Thanks for reading, and don’t forget to make your own voice heard. Vote.
The Image of Leadership
Voters judge candidates the same way teams judge leaders: by appearance, behavior, communication, digital footprint and environment. The Image of Leadership, including its Public Sector special edition, shows you how to align all five with the leader you want people to elect.
Frequently asked questions
How do first impressions influence voters?
Voters form an impression of a candidate within seconds, mostly from photos, videos and posts rather than in person. They read appearance, behavior and communication and use them as shortcuts to judge competence and care. Those quick judgments often shape their vote more than detailed policy positions.
What qualities do voters look for in a candidate?
Competence usually comes first: voters want to believe you will get things done and represent their interests. Close behind is the feeling that you genuinely care about people like them. Signs that you take care of yourself, without flaunting luxury, support both impressions.
Why is a digital footprint so important for political candidates?
Because most voters will never meet you in person. Your website, social media, emails and media coverage are their first and often only impression of you. If you do not shape that footprint with short, clear, consistent messages, your opponent or the internet will shape it for you.
Can a candidate’s family and team affect the campaign?
Yes. Voters judge you by the people around you: your campaign staff, your family and your friends. What they post, how they behave in public and how they treat others all reflect on you, so agree with them early on how to protect your image together.
