Tips in Messaging Liberty: Break-Out Session

1. Think about how others interpret what you say.

• Substance is important- but spend time on your presentation
• Don’t brush aside challenges
• Ask yourself: “How could someone twist the meaning of my words around?

2. Be sociable.

• You have to spread the message, especially to those who don’t agree with you.
• Be the person others want to emulate, and respect.

3. Be positive more than negative- remember, liberty is a GOOD thing.

• Don’t:

1. Focus on how bad everything is.
2. Try to persuade people with fear and anger.
3. Don’t let people portray you as angry.

• Hayek was positive, and talked about how things COULD be better.

4. Use demographics to your advantage.

• Logic is different for different people- be aware of motivating factors.
• Vary your argument based on your audience (War on Drugs is detrimental because minority groups have been disproportionately harmed, for example).
• Should we advocate liberty to specific groups? YES!

5. Don’t idealize the past- and look towards the future.

• We have never been completely free. Blacks and women may see the past as different than white men.
• Focus on the future, and the positive nature of liberty.
• Don’t say society was ever ideal (necessarily), because full liberty was not available.

6. Humanize the argument:

• Don’t talk in the abstract. Get down into the nitty-gritty.
• It’s easier to argue against a theoretical position against a real-world problem.

7. Use sound bites.

• Catchphrases and soundbites work.
• The shorter the better.
• Convey key points.
• They should be easy to remember.
• Stay on message, and REPEAT the soundbites.