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Winning Hearts and Minds

The Art of Winning Hearts and Minds for Hillary

July 31, 2016 by Inside Press

Executive Women for Hillary Emphasizes “Curious, Creative and Collaborative” Listening

By Susan Youngwood

About 40 women crammed into the living room of a townhouse in Philadelphia last week, taking up every imaginable seating and floor space. All were eager to learn an effective method for persuading undecided voters to support Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

“Our job is not to turn people who will happily vote for Donald Trump,” said Carol Evans, recent Chappaqua resident and a national co-chair of Executive Women for Hillary, who led this training. “Our job is to talk to independents, unenthusiastic Democrats and disaffected Republicans. Save your energy for the real fence sitters.”

Evans, who was founder and president of Working Mother Media, helped launch Executive Women for Hillary four months before Clinton declared her candidacy. “We started really early,” Evans explained. “We were just guessing and praying that she would run.”

Executive Women for Hillary is a national coalition of executive, entrepreneur and professional women who stand behind, support and advocate for Clinton to become the first woman president of the United States. It has about 1,450 members, all volunteer.

“We think that using our skills, networks and influence on getting Hillary elected is a winning formula,” Evans said. They call their approach Winning Hearts and Minds.

At the DNC: Co-founders of Executive Women for Hillary: Carol Evans (left) and Jennifer Allyn
At the DNC: Co-founders of Executive Women for Hillary: Carol Evans (left) and Jennifer Allyn

“We found our voice very early on” by focusing on training methodology that they rewrote for the Clinton campaign,, said Evans. “Like all executive women, we created a powerpoint.”

The group calls its training sessions salons, and they are usually held in someone’s private home. The one in Philadelphia during the Democratic National Convention was a typical gathering — it started with a social hour, as women chatted over cheese, crackers and cookies. After the group moved from the kitchen to the living room, the training began.

“The best thing is to start with an open-ended question,” Evans began. Ask, ‘How are you feeling about Hillary?’ You’ll get a lot of different responses.”

The most likely response is either ambivalence or negativity. The next step is to ask the person to talk about his or her concerns — and the key is to listen.

“Listening is not active,” instructed co-founder and national co-chair Jennifer Allyn, head of diversity for Price Waterhouse. “It’s curious, creative, collaborative.” Don’t interrupt, don’t disagree, don’t discuss their concerns one-by-one — just listen and be curious.

Then, engage them in a conversation by asking a lot of questions — questions that begin with either who, what, when, where, why or how. If the person is worried that Clinton isn’t trustworthy, ask, ‘Who do you trust? Why do you trust them. What qualities make someone trustworthy? How has trust been a factor in the past in your voting decisions? What is the one thing you do trust about Hillary?’”

“By asking those questions you are building a relationship – even if only for five minutes,” Evans said.

Then, pivot–explain why you are supporting Hillary. And finally, ask them their concerns about Donald Trump.

The goal is not to convince someone to love Hillary, but to get them to support her in November. “It’s a one-on-one game to get people to vote for Clinton,” said Evans.

This method works, said women who used it effectively in the primaries.

“I did this on my mother — who never voted Democrat in her life,” said Allyn. Allyn listened to her mother’s concerns, explained why she liked Hillary and was concerned about Trump, and convinced her mother to commit to vote for Clinton. “She even gave money!” Allyn added.

Mosemarie Boyd, an attorney from Arkansas, attended the Philadelphia session. “I met these women in Iowa in January,” she said, and signed up, becoming the co-chair for Ohio. “It brings in talented women who are top in their careers and teaches them to engage in the political process.”

The training is concise, which is attractive to women busy holding down jobs and raising families. Women busy. It also works to women’s strengths. “The most important part is to listen,” she explained.

Lisa Levey, the New Hampshire co-chair, is an organizational development consultant who has never been politically active before. The historic nature of Clinton’s campaign is a big motivating factor for her. “This is a huge deal; I can’t tell you how much that inspires me.”

She plans to organize movie screenings and debate parties for Executive Women in New Hampshire, and organize phone banks and canvassing. The key to this strategy, she said, “is understanding what the other person cares about.”

Engaging and training new members: Mosemarie Boyd (left), an attorney from Arkansas and Ohio co-chair.
Engaging members: Mosemarie Boyd (left), an attorney from Arkansas and Ohio co-chair

Twenty-eight members traveled to Philadelphia to attend the DNC, coming from around the country — Oklahoma, New Jersey, California, Washington, Virginia, to name a few places. The group plans to hold training salons in all 50 states (“We have a 50-state strategy,” Evans said), offer voter protection advice from its lawyer members, work on voter access and voter registration, and getting out the vote.

For more information on Executive Women for Hillary, go to www.executivewomenforhillary.com and follow them on Facebook, www.facebook.com/ExecutiveWomenforHillary/

 

 

 

Filed Under: 2016 DNC Tagged With: DNC 2016, Election 2016, Executive Women for Hillary, Hillary Clinton, Winning Hearts and Minds

Hillapalooza Weekend to Highlight Hometown Support for Hillary Clinton

July 19, 2016 by Stacey Pfeffer

Chappaqua, NY – A first time and upcoming “Hillapalooza Weekend,” created by Chappaqua Friends of Hill (CFOH) and scheduled for August 6 and 7, is intended to be a “town-wide celebration of Hillary,” states CFOH founder and president Dawn Evans Greenberg.

“We decided to create Hillapalooza as a way to involve the community, especially families with children, in celebrating a historic and monumental day in our town’s history. Hillary is our second presidential nominee from Chappaqua–Horace Greeley was the first–and the first women ever, of course, so we think a town-wide celebration is in order to share the excitement, “ noted Dawn Evans Greenberg, the President of CFOH.

Members of Chappaqua Friends of Hill during a meeting at Chappaqua Station
Members of Chappaqua Friends of Hill during a meeting at Chappaqua Station

In just days, a group of ten CFOH supporters will in fact be representing the more than 540 CFOH members by attending the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Philadelphia.  Recognizing that not everyone can go to the DNC, Hillapalooza weekend was formed as a way to involve all CFOH members and also help any Hillary Clinton supporter in town find ways to get involved or simply come out and show hometown support for Hillary Clinton in a friendly, welcoming environment. The event kicks off on August 6th with a barbeque hosted by CFOH at a private residence in Chappaqua. To RSVP for this event, contact Hillapalooza16@gmail.com

The event will feature lawn games, music and food for the whole family organized by local party planner Monique Banks.

“We are a team of Chappaqua moms and dads who are truly honored to celebrate this history making accomplishment of one of our own,” said Banks. “That being said, we know how to throw a party…and it will be a celebration to remember.”hillapalloza

“One hundred years from now, historians will be talking about this election and we want our town to have a place in that conversation,” Greenberg added. “While the day is 99% celebration, we do hope we can get more folks involved locally as well as let the world know just how proud Chappaqua is to be home to our first female presidential candidate.“

The Hillapalooza weekend continues with a special event on August 7th geared to local college students. Several college students home on summer break have been active CFOH volunteers. They wanted to increase their support for Hillary when they return to their college campuses this fall, noted Greenberg.

 

“WHAM” Training for College Students

The free event on Sunday will also offer training for college students, provided by Carol Evans, who co-founded Executive Women for Hillary and is a Hillary campaign professional. Evans created a dynamic training model called WHAM (Winning Hearts and Minds for Hillary).  The training session will feature skill-building to empower students to develop their Hillary commitment story–why they believe Hillary is the most qualified, intelligent and moral choice for President.

“This training session will look at what a Trump presidency might do to America,” commented Tracy Stein, a local Clinton supporter and campaign fundraiser who is helping to organize the training session.

“Our hope is that, armed with new confidence to speak about Hillary, students will make calls, canvas, and most importantly, go back to colleges throughout the country to act as Hillary ambassadors,” continued Stein. “These student ambassadors can have enormous power in the GOTV effort.  As the demographics play out, reaching college students could make a huge difference in this election.”

Students interested in attending the training session can RSVP to Tracy Stein at tastein1@gmail.com.

Filed Under: Hillary's Run Tagged With: Chappaqua Friends of Hill, Hillapalooza, Hillary Clinton, Hometown Rally, Winning Hearts and Minds

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