School Choice Messaging: One Statistic, One Story, One Solution

Tailoring School Choice Messages to Different Regions:

Key Statistic:

• Pennsylvania spends nearly $22,000 per student (top 10 nationally)
• Despite high spending, test scores continue to decline

Regional Messaging Approaches:

1. Suburban Areas:
   • Emphasize that students are unique
   • One-size-fits-all system doesn't work for every family
   • Highlight families choosing alternatives when the system doesn't fit
   • Focus on: giving options to find what works best
2. Rural Areas:
   • Acknowledge pride in local schools while recognizing need for options
   • Contrast strong rural schools with struggling districts
   • Empathize with parents who can't afford to move from failing districts
   • Focus on: maintaining strong schools while helping trapped families
3. Urban Areas:
   • Address unsafe and failing schools leaving children behind
   • Point to waitlists and lotteries showing demand for alternatives
   • Frame as an urgent safety and survival issue
   • Focus on: immediate relief for students in dangerous situations

Solution for All Areas:

• Lifeline Scholarships to give families options
• Fund students directly rather than trying to fix broken systems
• Reference successful implementation in other states

Bottom Line: Keep messaging simple but resonant for your specific audience using one statistic, one story approach, and one solution.

For more tips on effective school choice messaging, refer to the accompanying one-page PDF.

Winning Edge gives you the tools you need to lead and influence in the political and policy arenas. Every other week, Winning Edge releases short (approximately 5-minute) spots—or “snacks”—focused on one of four areas: fundraising, media, policy, or persuasion.

For more, visit our website: www.thecommonwealthpartners.com

The Hand Framework for Persuasive Speeches:

1. Thumb - The Goal
   • What you want your audience to dd, and why they aren't doing it already?
   • Shapes every part of your talk
2. Index Finger - The Hook
   • Start strong to grab attention
   • Options:
     • Personal story (builds trust)
     • Problem story (sets up challenge)
     • Curiosity story (opens a loop)
     • One surprising statistic
     • One thought-provoking question
3. Middle Finger - The Hold
   • Deliver core content with clear structure
   • Use 3, 2, or 1:
     • Three steps for teaching a process
     • Two points for contrast or reframing
     • One big idea to cut through noise
4. Ring Finger - The Hurdle
   • Address why they haven't acted already
   • Common hurdles:
     • Skill Set — They don’t know what to do. Clear the fog. Give the first step.
     • Mindset — They’re afraid to act. Reframe the risk. Help them feel safe.
     • Tool Set — They lack the tools. Give them what they need—a case study, checklist, or walkthrough.
   • Show empathy and understanding
5. Pinky - The Handoff
   • Make next steps clear
   • Show impact of saying yes
   • Script the next move
   • Give something tangible to remember

Key takeaway: Don't just inform - move people to act with this simple, memorable framework.

For more tips on creating persuasive speeches, refer to the accompanying one-page PDF.

Winning Edge gives you the tools you need to lead and influence in the political and policy arenas. Every other week, Winning Edge releases short (approximately 5-minute) spots—or “snacks”—focused on one of four areas: fundraising, media, policy, or persuasion.

For more, visit our website: www.thecommonwealthpartners.com

Applying "One Statistic, One Story, One Solution" to Education Reform:

One Strong Statistic:

• $22,000 in funding per student in Pennsylvania
• Supporting number: Nearly $7 billion in school district reserves

One Compelling Story:

• Pennsylvania's education system story arc:
  • More funding, more teachers, more programs
  • Yet outcomes keep getting worse
  • Enrollment down, spending up
  • Test scores declining despite investments
• Reframes the narrative: "You weren't wrong to want to fund schools, but it's time to try something different"

One Clear Solution:

• Fund students, not systems
• Let money follow the child
• Lifeline Scholarships as a specific policy example
• Give families in lowest-performing schools freedom to choose better options

Message Framing Considerations:

• Acknowledge positive associations with local schools/teachers
• Address negative feelings about the overall system
• Show how system-level fixes have failed
• Highlight growing alternatives (charter schools, homeschooling, private schools)

Key Takeaway: "Instead of sending money to a system that's failing, we send it to the student—so they don't have to wait for the system to change."

For more tips on messaging education reform, refer to the accompanying one-page PDF.

Winning Edge gives you the tools you need to lead and influence in the political and policy arenas. Every other week, Winning Edge releases short (approximately 5-minute) spots—or “snacks”—focused on one of four areas: fundraising, media, policy, or persuasion.

For more, visit our website: www.thecommonwealthpartners.com

The 10 Call Rule: How 1 Hour a Week Transforms Fundraising

• Zig Ziglar's principle: "You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great"
• Persistence matters more than perfection in fundraising
• Problems with delaying fundraising until election years:
  • Skills get rusty
  • Missed opportunities to build a war chest

The 10 Call Rule:

1. Block one hour each week specifically for fundraising
2. Commit to making 10 phone calls during that hour

Implementation Strategy:

• Start with previous donors
• Update them on legislative session
• Make a specific ask
• Pause and wait for response
• Process donation immediately or follow up

Benefits of Consistency:

• Hundreds of calls completed over the year
• Steady building of campaign funds
• Stronger donor relationships
• No last-minute fundraising scramble

Action Step:

• Block one hour next week for making 10 calls
• Set as recurring event
• Try for 10 consecutive weeks
• Protect this dedicated time

For more fundraising strategies and tips, refer to the accompanying one-page PDF.

Winning Edge gives you the tools you need to lead and influence in the political and policy arenas. Every other week, Winning Edge releases short (approximately 5-minute) spots—or “snacks”—focused on one of four areas: fundraising, media, policy, or persuasion.

For more, visit our website: www.thecommonwealthpartners.com

The Noun Exercise - Finding the Right Story:

• Challenge: Identifying compelling stories that illustrate policy impacts
• Solution: Use the "Noun Exercise" from Kindra Hall's book "Stories That Stick"

Three-Step Process:

1. Identify the People
   • List individuals affected by the policy (e.g., fracking workers, small business owners)
   • Look for specific individuals who come to mind
2. Identify the Places
   • Consider locations impacted (e.g., diners near gas sites, small town main streets)
   • Specific places often trigger memories of stories
3. Identify the Things
   • Focus on tangible objects (e.g., idle trucks, utility bills, hard hats)
   • Small details help paint vivid pictures

Building the Story Structure:

• Normal Life: Situation before disruption
• Explosion: Change or challenge appears
• New Normal: Outcome or impact

Example: Small trucking company owner considering expansion

• Normal Life: Owner ready to buy second truck and grow business
• Explosion: RGGI creates uncertainty about energy industry
• New Normal: Owner delays expansion, no new truck, no new job created

Connect to Bigger Picture:

• Pennsylvania's emissions reductions through market forces
• RGGI threatens progress by adding costs and uncertainty
• Call to action: Continue reducing emissions through innovation, not mandates

For more tips on crafting compelling policy stories, refer to the accompanying one-page PDF.

Winning Edge gives you the tools you need to lead and influence in the political and policy arenas. Every other week, Winning Edge releases short (approximately 5-minute) spots—or “snacks”—focused on one of four areas: fundraising, media, policy, or persuasion.

For more, visit our website: www.thecommonwealthpartners.com

Regional Approach - Tailoring the Message:

• Consider regional perspectives (Bucks County vs. Westmoreland County)
• Simplify complex issues like RGGI (Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative)

One Strong Statistic: "Pennsylvania's CO2 emissions dropped 10.8% from 2022 to 2023"

Bucks County (Moderate/Suburban) Framing:

• Acknowledge environmental concerns
• Highlight clean electricity progress
• Emphasize reduction without mandates

Westmoreland County (Conservative/Rural) Framing:

• Challenge media narratives
• Emphasize reduction without government intervention
• Focus on natural gas industry success

Story Elements:

• Pennsylvania's energy transformation over a decade
• Coal reduction from 40% to 5% of electricity mix
• Natural gas innovation driving progress
• Pennsylvania as leading electricity exporter

Solution Focus:

• Continue successful emissions reduction approach
• Avoid carbon tax schemes that increase costs
• Maintain energy sector strength

Key Message:

• Pennsylvania is making environmental progress through innovation, not taxation
• Energy progress happening because of natural gas, not government mandates

For more tips on messaging complex energy issues, refer to the accompanying one-page PDF.

Winning Edge gives you the tools you need to lead and influence in the political and policy arenas. Every other week, Winning Edge releases short (approximately 5-minute) spots—or “snacks”—focused on one of four areas: fundraising, media, policy, or persuasion.

For more, visit our website: www.thecommonwealthpartners.com

One Strong Statistic:

• State spending has grown 40% in five years to $50 billion
• Create contrast: Government grew 40% while average paychecks barely changed
• Focus on memorability over precision

One Relatable Story:

• Compare personal income growth since 2020 to government spending
• Make numbers personal: "Do you make 40% more than in 2020?"
• Show impact on working families

One Clear Solution - Taxpayer Protection Act:

• Force government to follow same financial rules as families
• Set commonsense spending cap tied to taxpayer affordability
• Prioritize needs over wants
• Prevent inevitable tax hikes

Key Message:

• Government spending can't keep growing faster than PA's economy
• Make Harrisburg live by same rules as everyone else
• Simple contrast: 40% government growth vs. stagnant personal incomes

For more tips on making complex budget issues compelling, refer to the accompanying one-page PDF.

Winning Edge gives you the tools you need to lead and influence in the political and policy arenas. Every other week, Winning Edge releases short (approximately 5-minute) spots—or “snacks”—focused on one of four areas: fundraising, media, policy, or persuasion.

For more, visit our website: www.thecommonwealthpartners.com

Florence Nightingale's persuasive approach to reforming military hospitals:

1. One Statistic
   • Need clear, memorable number
   • Help people realize seriousness of problem
   • Example: 2,800 preventable deaths in one month
2. One Story
   • Brain wired to remember stories
   • Combine with striking statistic for power
   • Allows listeners to update their thinking
3. One Solution
   • Focus on clear, specific action
   • Make it achievable
   • Avoid laundry list of reforms

Tips for Implementation:

• Identify most compelling statistic
• Find powerful story illustrating emotional impact
• Focus on specific solution

Test Your Message:

• Is statistic clear and memorable?
• Does story stick?
• Is solution specific and achievable?

Bottom Line:

• Simple formula: one statistic, one story, one solution
• Use this approach to change minds effectively

For more tips on persuasive presentations, refer to the accompanying one-page PDF.

Winning Edge gives you the tools you need to lead and influence in the political and policy arenas. Every other week, Winning Edge releases short (approximately 5-minute) spots—or “snacks”—focused on one of four areas: fundraising, media, policy, or persuasion.

For more, visit our website: www.thecommonwealthpartners.com