How to Craft a Quality Candidate Statement
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Table of Contents:
- What Is A Candidate Statement
- What Makes An Ideal Candidate Statement?
What is a Candidate Statement?
Candidate statements educate your organization’s voters and capture their votes. These declarations let audiences know who someone is, why they’re passionate about being on the ballot, and why they deserve to win. Without a well-crafted message, voters may search for alternatives, like how to write-in a candidate, or not vote at all.
What Makes an Ideal Candidate Statement?
These steps can boost your confidence that your candidate is presenting themselves most effectively.
1. Prepare a Brief But Effective Introduction
Statements are crucial for introducing a candidate for election and must be relevant without rambling. To resonate with voters, candidates should briefly describe their experience and skills, establishing a clear connection between these qualifications and their desired leadership positions.
2. Showcase Successes
Demonstrate why they’re the right choice for the job. Have the candidate explain a previous achievement and how they reached it. Moreover, ask about a prior challenge and how they overcame it. Ensure the examples show how the candidate’s past experiences have prepared them for the position.
3. Focus on the Future
Great candidate statements encourage voters to embrace change. Your candidate should acknowledge organizational challenges and how to resolve them, as well as paint a picture of how they envision the future and the steps to actualizing it. Outline ambitious yet attainable goals and show how their leadership will lead the organization toward growth and progress. A forward-thinking candidate will also highlight their adaptability and openness to change.
4. Provide the Proof
Present social proof to bolster a candidate’s resume. Examples include statements and endorsements from other well-respected community members and accolades from previous experiences.
5. Keep It Relatable
Ensure candidates portray themselves as relatable. Eliminate language that won’t resonate with voters. Your candidate can also share a personal story that keeps them “real” in voters’ eyes.
6. Emphasize the Benefits
Voters will want to know how a specific action benefits them. Have your candidate explain why voting for them provides advantages. The better a statement details what’s in it for voters, the likelier they are to vote.
7. Review and Refine
A well-crafted statement should be concise, error-free and vote-inspiring. Review it for brevity, concrete language and accuracy. Have trusted individuals review it to ensure your candidate hasn’t missed opportunities to strengthen the message.
Contact Survey & Ballot Systems for Your Next Organizational Election
SBS is a trusted, secure technology partner for leadership elections in organizations like labor unions, HOAs, co-ops and credit unions. We offer reliable solutions to simplify private elections and connect organizations with their members.
Contact us with questions or for information about how we can make your next election frictionless.
Since joining SBS in 2011, Tony has led company communications, branding, and product launches, maintaining SBS as the go-to for governance solutions. He regularly hosts educational webinars and speaks at national trade association events across the United States. Tony’s expertise has earned him media recognition, with features in outlets like Rural Electric Magazine, The Association Adviser podcast, Associations Now, and NBC’s King 5 Mornings in Seattle.