Step 1: Think about the things you want to achieve for students and the types of students you will be representing, if elected
Think about the issues that affect a variety of students the most. Throw in your ideas and then prioritise and edit at a later stage. Draw connections with factual information.
You can find this information in:
Categorise the information you have gathered according to themes and try to shape them into key policies that you will use in your campaign.
And think about how you explain this in a way other students will understand what you are saying
Step 2: Understand the role you are standing for
Read the Election Candidates Pack cover to cover. Make the connections between the role and the information available.
Speak to fellow students who are currently in the role to get an idea of what they have been doing
Step 3: Share your experience on how you may have achieved goals before, whether you are already involved in the Union or not
Have you lobbied or campaigned in school or another university, or in your local community? Do you have any leadership or business experience? How have you worked effectively in teams before?
Remember, even if you have not got this experience that does not mean you do not have the skills and abilities to fulfil the role!
Step 4: Tell the story about yourself and consider how you want to come across to voters
Create your narrative - why are you standing, why are you motivated to do the role? What makes you the ideal candidate to do so? Do you want to carry on or break with tradition? What results will make you feel you have achieved what you set out?
Be careful to not be overconfident or assume you are the best person in the role- there is no 'one best person', as all the roles are part of a team in which diversity of opinion, background and styles really make things work
Step 5: Use your peers as your sounding board
Ask your friends what they think your best qualities are and what they feel your priorities should be. Merely stating all the things you want to do because it is reflective of your own experience will not entice voters. Get as much out of the 250 words you are allowed to use.
- Strip out duplicating or confusing words.
- Condense your message.
- Strip out cliches or slang.
- Does it affect the students I’m running to represent?
- Have I got an idea how to solve or improve it?
Remember to focus on you, do not talk about opponents
