I knocked on a door while voter canvassing one day, and a middle-aged woman answered.

It went down hill from there.

I greeted her and said that I was with a non-partisan organization and was wondering if she had a moment to answer a few quick questions. She said that she didn’t take political surveys because she thought they were all biased, and misrepresented information. I tried to explain that this was just a survey trying to determine how people felt about a certain piece of legislation that had recently passed. She demanded that I tell her who I was working for. I told her a non-profit, non-partisan organization that happened to support conservative economic policy.

She proceeded to say that I was being disingenuous for not saying so to begin with and described in no uncertain terms how she felt about me. I apologized for making her feel that way and assured her that it wasn’t my intent and that the survey was designed to gather information. She didn’t believe me, but I had challenged her statement about all political survey’s being biased, and she took up this challenge. She said that she would take the survey if I would allow her to explain to me how my survey was merely a push poll and nothing more. I agreed and we finished out the conversation.

If you have done any sort of door- to-door campaigning, the odds are you have run into a situation similar to this. I only hope that you haven’t made as many mistakes as I made in this story. If in-person voter contact is the most effective way to get people to vote, then a candidate, campaign or organization has to run a successful door-to-door campaign. Interrupting people at their homes is not always an easy task, but it can be accomplished successfully – giving the voter a better sense of your candidate or issues and giving your campaign a better sense of who your voter is and how likely they are to support your cause. Here is a list of suggestions and tips learned by experience to enable you to succeed:

Getting to the Door

1. Know what address your going to and make a beeline for it. Stay focused and consult your map regularly so as not to get lost. (The best way to keep up momentum and save time is by using campaign technology.)

2. Don’t meander or approach houses haphazardly. This is a waste of time and makes people uncomfortable. I have been accused of staking out a house on a few occasions because I was turned around and walked by the same couple houses a few times.

3. Notice conversation starters. Bumper stickers, toys in the yard, flags, flowers, etc. can all be great things to make an awkward conversation more natural and give you a better sense of who lives in each house.

4. Get off the grass. As far as you’re concerned, it is a decoration.

5. Don’t invade personal space. Stand a few steps away from the door as you wait. People want room between them and you, or they won’t open the door.

Starting a Conversation

1. Be confident. It’s simple as that.

2. Don’t be a statue.  Move naturally and use reasonable, but not repetitive hand motions.

3. Be brief. You are asking people to take time out of their day, so make the most of the few minutes you’ll have with a voter and don’t waste it.

4. Don’t argue with people. It’s a waste of time. So do as I say, not as I did in the story above.

5. Make eye contact. This goes a long way in helping even the least confident person appear as if they are.

6. Don’t be stoic. Changing your facial expression will communicate that you are natural and comfortable.

7. Dress well. I’m not saying wear a suit, but which instills more confidence… an Oxford shirt, or a T-shirt? No torn jeans, please.

8. Don’t allow yourself to be captured.  I have talked with several very pleasant gentlemen in excess of 45 minutes while I should have been door knocking because I didn’t leave before I was “caught.” Know how to bail in a polite manner, such as, “It was great talking with you, and really enjoyed it, but I have another 100 doors I have to hit before the day is done, so I should probably get going.”