How can we persuade people who are not yet pro-EU to change their minds? There is now strong evidence that we don’t do it by arguing with them or bombarding them with statistics: these methods don’t work. A different approach, “Deep Canvassing”, aims to change political opinions by means of a non-confrontational conversation, using empathic listening and real life stories in preference to argument and presentation of facts and figures. Developed in the United States, Deep Canvassing is backed by a strong evidence base, and has been used to good effect in many campaigns, including the 2020 presidential election.
The webinar will be followed by an online introductory training event, intended to embed Deep Canvassing into the pro-EU campaign on 27 October – details to follow.
Speakers:
• Ella Barrett (The Leadership Lab, Los Angeles): Deep Canvassing: An Introduction
◦ Ella is one of the developers of Deep Canvassing and has ten years experience of training volunteers to use it
• Josh Kalla (Yale University): Deep Canvassing: The Evidence
◦ Josh was recruited at the outset to evaluate Deep Canvassing and has conducted numerous studies
• Richard Kilpatrick (European Movement): Deep Canvassing: The UK Experience
◦ Richard is one of very few UK campaigners with experience of using Deep Canvassing and training volunteers
