As the presidential and vice presidential debates commence, political debates are on everyone’s mind. They provide an excellent opportunity for the women running for office to engage voters and amplify their platform, but they can also feel unpredictable and daunting. In a WPLN Facebook Live, communications expert and political veteran KayAnn Schoeneman offered her advice to women seeking office on preparing for debates in an unusual time. These are some of her recommendations: 

• The biggest mistake is to not debate. Women running for office should utilize the tools that give them the best opportunities to make connections with voters, and debates are a fantastic tool for showing your accessibility. 

• Know your why. KayAnn says, “I think it’s really important for any candidate who is out there to really be reflective at the onset of their campaigns and understand why they’re running and what they stand for.” Knowing why you’re seeking office creates the foundation of your platform—on and off the debate stage. 

• Come up with three points to emphasize. Use them frequently. Repetition reinforces these ideas in voters’ heads and helps them connect with you. These are also great points to defer to in the instance where you are unable to answer a specific question. 

• Be real and be consistent. Debates should show you as the best version but not a different version of yourself. One should cultivate her brand before the debate and then show that same image during and after the debate. Canned responses to questions tend to fall flat, so it’s more important to be authentic in your answers. 

• Modify your debate setting to best suit you. Make sure you negotiate to ensure you have enough time to answer a question, regulate the topics you’d like to discuss, and make sure you have a respectable moderator that is viewed as neutral and not a “third person” in the debate. If given the option, you should choose to stand (instead of sitting) to keep you energized and help you avoid the temptation to slouch or fidget. 

• Don’t waste your time. “You should be sure not to expend your energy on those who will never support you,” KayAnn states. It is necessary to “prioritize where, who, and when” you debate. Use debates to sway undecided voters and to bolster your base of supporters, not to engage with voters who likely will not be persuaded no matter how good your points. 

• Look for inspiration. Have a mantra, photograph, or person to think about that will ground you during the debate in case you feel yourself struggling. 

• Assemble a kitchen cabinet of people you trust to help you prep. These should be people that will be honest with you instead of telling you what you want to hear. These people can give you feedback on your answers or act as your opponent to make sure you are prepared by the time of the debate. 

• Correct misinformation immediately. In the age of social media platforms that rapid-fire information, it is vitally important to respond and correct as quickly as possible. 

• Prepare specifically for virtual debates. Covid-19 prevents a lot of in-person interaction, and virtual debates are on the rise. The savvy woman seeking office should be able to adapt to this new format. 

  • Ditch the patterns. They look busy and disorienting on camera. Stick to solid colors but avoid bright white or dark black. 

  • Paint yourself in the best possible light, literally. Make sure you use lighting that is flattering to your features and keeps your face bright enough to see. Don’t use any backlighting which will darken your face. 

  • Take a step back. Because smartphones and webcams use wide-angle lenses, objects closer to the camera get distorted. Don’t make your face one of those objects. 

  • Set the camera to line up with your eyes. Connect with your voters by looking “eye to eye.” 

  • Mic. Check. Make sure you are close enough to the camera to be heard. Pick a quiet place free of sound distractions that may take away from your message. 

  • Make sure you have a stable internet connection. Voters want to see the candidate, not a collection of pixels. Make sure other devices on your wifi are not hogging the bandwidth. 

• Being authentic is more important than having knowledge about each specific topic, but the best politicians can blend both. “No amount of preparation will supersede whether or not you are real, whether you’re human, whether you are connecting in a way that really resonates with those voters.” At the same time, not having a response to any of the questions will reflect poorly. A candidate should balance being knowledgeable and being approachable. 

Debates are increasingly important as face-to-face interaction becomes more limited. To be successful, you need to be prepared but also aware of how you are able to connect to voters. For more detailed information on how to best prep for debates, watch the the full conversation with KayAnn below or check it out on the WPLN Facebook page.