Campaign Time!

It's campaign time. There's no doubt about that. TV ads are flying fast and furious. I'm looking forward to seeing the polls and how some of these ads are affecting the ratings. One of the candidates is telling the public about the improvements that have been made and asking for continued support and the other is ad bashing. It's fascinating to watch!

Looking back at well known and famous politicians, which speeches do you remember...the bashing negative "let's go after the other guy and verbally beat him to a pulp" or the "let's work together to build something special?" I'd love to hear your opinions about that.

However this blog isn't about that as much as watching how some of the party members are communicating with their communities. This afternoon I received the 10th or so automated telephone call from my provincial representative. There used to be a real person at the other end of the phone asking for your support but now, it's automated so if you don't support them you can't very well say so. You're supposed to sit there like a good person and just be talked to, not with.

What it does is intrude on the privacy of our homes and leave too many messages we don't want in the first place. What does that tell me about this representative?

As I don't know her personally, many questions come to mind. Does she not know how to engage in a conversation? Perhaps she needs someone to write a script for her to read so she's not knocked off balance by an actual question. What in the world could be the advantage of calling constituents via automated telephone call (which is in truth telephone Spam) and not have any personal connection whatsoever?

Would you want to elect someone who doesn't bother to get to know you or what your thoughts are for your area, city, province or country?

I wouldn't. Why in the world would I elect someone or one they were endorsing because of a recording? Would any of you?

Think long and hard about who you'd want in government representing your interests.

As a political leadership coach I am appalled by this. It's communication at its worst. This is not leadership; this is hiding behind a machine. I'm all for automating everything that's automatable but personal dialogue and connection is not automatable.

Has this ever happened to you in your neck of the woods and if so, did you end up voting for that person? I understand some people vote for the party no matter what, but there are some deciding factors such as a politician being able to communicate or how articulate that person might be when bombarded with questions by opponents. I'd love your opinions on this.

Best..
Donna Karlin