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Phonebanking Declassified - everything you wanted to know about phonebanking and were afraid to ask - a thread; pls follow if interested.
1) The basics - what is phone banking? (& is it one word or two 
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Phone banking means you are calling voters on behalf of a campaign (e.g. @JulieOliverTX or @kekefortexas) or organization ( @poweredxpeople or @MomsDemand) for a specific purpose.
)Phone banking means you are calling voters on behalf of a campaign (e.g. @JulieOliverTX or @kekefortexas) or organization ( @poweredxpeople or @MomsDemand) for a specific purpose.
2) Different types of calling campaigns - there are different reasons why you call & what you are trying to achieve. See subsections below. 
2a) Voter ID - does the person you are calling identity as a Democrat or Republican? You: are you voting for Democrats? Their answer: heck yes or no or idk. And you mark that down (maybe a bit more is said but it boils down to this & if yes, youâll ask them if theyâll volunteer).
2b) Ballot/Registration Chase - we sent you a ballot/registration form & did you receive it & will you please mail it in? (& by the way, do you support our candidate and will you volunteer? 
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2c) Volunteer calls - Basically please weâre begging you to help us make these calls or text or do something to protect our democracy or if theyâve signed up, asking if theyâll actually show up
2d) GOTV - We are calling to literally Get Out The Vote & these are fun calls & will be super important this year w so much uncertainty. You will help them make a voting plan like what day will you go, at what time, where is your nearest polling place, what ID to bring, etc.
2e) There are probably other types of calls but Iâm not experienced or important enough to know about those so that part is still classified (sorry bc it probably would have been the really good part, too).
3) How to make calls - a few options: a) use your phone & go to a link w the people you are supposed to call & manually dial those numbers b) dialer - you use a system that dials for you using your phone/computer (know that pause when you answer your phone, yeah thatâs a dialer).
4) What to say - you will have a script to follow to give you general guidelines on what to say. There will be questions along the way & you will mark down peopleâs answers. Sometimes you forget a question or two or they hang up before you can ask & THAT IS OK! (at least w me)
5) What to expect - it varies. In general, wrong numbers, lots of answering machines, some rude people, & some great calls. Those vary depending on the purpose (voter ID will have more rude people than GOTV) & method (dialer has fewer answering machines than dialing on your own).
6) Do I really have to make calls? - the best piece of advice I got was from @mattoliver. I asked âdo I really have to knock on doors?â He said, âno, you donât unless you want to win.â So, no you donât have to make calls but someone has to if we want to win so pls try if you can.
7) Social anxiety - I have this & would love to hear othersâ thoughts on how to handle. I have a few methods 1) reminding myself of why Iâm doing it (defeat Trump) 2) pretend like Iâm an actor playing the part of a phonebanker 3) take breaks 4) tweet about it 5) beer 
8) Find where you fit in - I hate calling to ask people to volunteer & would make rather do Voter ID. I love GOTV. Different people will like different things - try some & see what you like.
9) Signing up - so you want to try phonebanking? (I mean Iâm sure you do, right???). Normally you sign up thru a Mobilize link & when itâs time you click on a Zoom link thatâs been emailed to you. Then there will be the actual phonebank link to dialer or numbers (in email too).
10) What if I canât stay the whole time - no worries. Some of these phonebank are long. Come & make 5 calls or 50. You are a volunteer. You are doing your best. You have a lot of stuff to deal with in life but democracy matters. It matters a lot so do what you can.
p.s. what if Iâve tried and I just canât phonebank - thatâs OK! Try something else like texting, postcarding, letter writing, donating or bringing beers to those that can phonebank 
- itâs all good & we are going to do this together w everyone doing what they can & we will win!
- itâs all good & we are going to do this together w everyone doing what they can & we will win!
