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| Effective advocates understand the op-position’s perspective, says Neil Lazarus. |
McDonalds! "McDonald's doesn't explain why you need to eat a burger; they sell it," Lazarus explains. "If you go to McDonald's in China, it comes with rice; if you go to it in Germany, it comes with beer. They speak in the language of their buyer."
Understanding the opposition's perspective is a critical part of advocating for Israel, Lazarus told a small group at the Mandel JCC on Feb. 18. His talk was titled "The five rules of effective Israel activism."
"The most effective Israel advocacy is to recognize the suffering of the people on the other side," Lazarus says. "If a 12-year old Palestinian child was killed, say it is a tragedy, because it is a tragedy. You've got to be able to speak the language of the other side."
When advocating for Israel, people often speak the wrong "language," Lazarus points out. For example, when speaking to individuals who considers themselves "politically correct," it is important to not talk about the war on terror, he says. Instead, focus on speaking about working toward peace.
Another crucial part of advocating for Israel is to understand the changing ways people get information, he says. A 20-something will remember emotion rather than facts. The "click-flick generation," as Lazarus calls them, thinks in seven-minute blocks of time, because every seven minutes a commercial comes on TV.
Lazarus demonstrated the changing face of information-gathering by asking the age-diverse audience to raise their hands if they've ever watched TV while being on the Internet at the same time. A handful of young audience members raised their hands and added they've navigated TV and the Internet while also talking on the phone and listening to their iPod. No one of middle age or beyond raised hands.
During his animated presentation, Lazarus used videos to show how technology is making Israel advocacy more effective. One video featured footage two Israeli students took of the aftermath of a bomb hitting a hotel two blocks from the caf? they were sitting in at the time.
These types of videos are a "great thing for Israel," Lazarus says. "It's important to portray exactly what actually happened, and to see the threat posed to Israel."
Without these types of pro-Israel videos or factual information, people are seeing one thing and being told another, Lazarus says. The average person's view on the situation in Israel is simply that there is "genocide and conflict," Lazarus explains.
Lazarus summed up the five rules of effective advocacy. The last rule, he says, is to use the preceding tactics to "get to yes." The first is to have a message. But, Lazarus explains, there needs to be a different message for different audiences.
The second rule is to speak in the audience's language. Third, to use personal examples. Instead of speaking about terrorism as a whole, speak about a particular victim of terrorism.
Finally, show emotion and speak from the heart, he says. "If you don't believe it, don't say it."
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