Deep Canvassing: What It Is, With a Sample Script
Deep canvassing is a way of talking with people at their doors that takes longer and asks more of both sides than a standard visit. Instead of delivering a short message and recording an answer, the canvasser asks the person what they think, listens to why, and invites them to connect the issue to their own experience. The conversation usually lasts several minutes rather than one or two.
This post explains what deep canvassing is, how a deep canvass conversation is structured, what research has found about it, and when it makes sense for a field program. It ends with a sample script you can adapt for any issue, ballot question or candidate. For the rest of the field program around it, see how campaigns organize a canvass.
What deep canvassing is
In a standard persuasion canvass, a canvasser introduces the candidate or the issue, gives a short reason to support it, asks where the person stands and moves on to the next door. The goal is to reach as many doors as possible and record a voter ID, meaning a note of which way the person leans.
A deep canvass changes the goal. The canvasser is trying to have one real conversation in which the person thinks through the issue in their own words. The canvasser asks open questions, shares a short personal story, and asks the person to recall a time from their own life that relates to the issue. The canvasser does not argue or correct. The idea behind the method is that people are more likely to reconsider a view when they reason through it themselves than when they are told what to think.
Deep canvassing is used by issue advocacy groups, ballot measure campaigns and candidate campaigns. The method does not belong to any party or cause. It is a way of structuring a conversation, and it works the same way whatever the subject.
How a deep canvass conversation is structured
Deep canvass scripts generally follow the same order, even when the wording changes from one program to the next.
- Introduction. The canvasser says who they are and why they came, in one or two sentences.
- A first rating. The canvasser asks the person to rate their view on a short scale, such as 1 to 5. This gives a starting point and shows the person that their own opinion is the subject of the conversation.
- The reason behind it. The canvasser asks why they chose that number and listens without interrupting.
- A personal story. The canvasser asks about a time in the person's life that relates to the issue, such as a time someone helped them or a time they needed help. The canvasser may share a short story of their own first.
- Connecting the story to the issue. The canvasser asks how that experience relates to the question at hand. The person does most of the talking.
- A second rating. The canvasser asks the rating question again. Some people move and some do not, and either answer is recorded as given.
- Close. The canvasser thanks the person and, where it fits, asks for a next step, such as taking information, attending an event or making a plan to vote.
The two ratings are what make deep canvassing measurable. Recording both lets a program see how often its conversations change a view, rather than relying on impressions from the field.
What the research has found
A randomized field experiment by David Broockman and Joshua Kalla, published in the journal Science in 2016, studied deep canvassing directly. In South Florida, canvassers had conversations of about ten minutes at voters' doors that encouraged the voters to take another person's perspective. The study found that these conversations reduced prejudice against transgender people and that the effect lasted for at least three months. It also found that the conversations increased support for a nondiscrimination law, even after voters were shown arguments against it.
One study does not guarantee the same result for every issue or every campaign. The method depends on trained canvassers and long conversations, and a program should test it on its own doors before relying on it. The study is useful mainly because it shows that a single conversation at the door can have a lasting effect when the conversation is built around listening.
Source: Broockman, D. and Kalla, J. (2016). "Durably reducing transphobia: A field experiment on door-to-door canvassing." Science 352(6282), pages 220 to 224. doi:10.1126/science.aad9713.
When deep canvassing fits a field program
Deep canvassing trades reach for depth. A canvasser who spends ten minutes in each conversation finishes far fewer doors in a shift than one running a short ID script. That trade makes sense in some situations and not in others.
- It fits when the outcome depends on changing minds rather than turning out supporters, when the issue is one people feel strongly about, when the group of persuadable voters is small enough to reach with long conversations, and when the program has time to train canvassers well.
- It fits less well in the final weeks before an election, when the job is turnout, or when a program needs to identify supporters across a large area quickly.
Many programs combine the two approaches. They run a standard ID canvass across the whole universe, meaning the full list of people they plan to contact, and then send their most experienced canvassers back to have deep conversations with the people who placed themselves in the middle. Our post on what to say when canvassing covers the standard openers and answers such a program uses alongside it.
Training canvassers for deep conversations
Deep canvassing is harder to teach than a short script, because the canvasser has to listen and respond rather than recite. Programs that use it usually do the following.
- Train in pairs with role-play, where one person plays a resident with a firm view and the other practices asking and listening.
- Ask each canvasser to prepare a short story of their own about the issue, so it sounds like their own words at the door.
- Teach canvassers not to argue, correct facts or rush to the close. A pause after a question is part of the method.
- Review conversations after each shift, using the two ratings and the canvassers' notes, and coach one change at a time.
- Expect a lower door count and plan the shift around it, so canvassers are not pushed toward speed.
A sample deep canvass script
This sample uses a local issue, a proposed property tax for the public library, as its example. Replace the words in brackets with your own issue, candidate or question. Keep the questions open, and let the person do most of the talking.
Introduction: "Hi, my name is [name]. I am a volunteer with [organization], and we are talking with neighbors about [the library tax on the April ballot]. Do you have a few minutes?"
First rating: "On a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 means you are strongly against [the library tax] and 5 means you are strongly for it, where would you put yourself right now?"
The reason: "What makes you say [number]?" Listen, then ask one follow-up question about what they said.
A personal story: "Can I ask you something a little more personal? Has there been a time when you or someone close to you [depended on a public service like the library]? What was that like?" If it helps, share your own short story first: "For me, it was [one or two sentences]."
Connecting it: "How do you think that experience connects to [the library tax]?" Listen, and repeat back what you heard: "It sounds like [what they said] matters to you."
Second rating: "Now that we have talked about it, where would you put yourself on that same 1 to 5 scale?"
Close: "Thank you for talking with me. [Would you like information about the vote, or a reminder before Election Day?]"
A script is a guide, not a recording. Canvassers should know the order of the questions well enough to have a natural conversation, and they should never press someone who does not want to talk. For persuasion scripts written for local candidates, see door-knocking scripts for local candidates.
Recording a deep canvass in Beacon
A deep canvass produces more information than a standard visit, so it helps to record it the same way at every door. In Beacon, you can add the two rating questions to a survey as rating scale questions, which run from 1 to 5, along with any other questions you ask. Canvassers answer them on their phones at the door, with or without cell signal, and each answer is saved with that door's result and the canvasser's notes. Our page on the survey builder shows the five question types.
Survey responses can be exported to a spreadsheet, so a field director can compare first and second ratings across the program and see where the conversations are working and where coaching would help.
Common questions
What is deep canvassing?
A door-to-door conversation in which the canvasser asks open questions, listens, and invites the person to connect an issue to their own experience, instead of delivering a short message. It usually includes a rating question at the start and at the end.
How long is a deep canvass conversation?
Often several minutes. The study published in Science described conversations of about ten minutes. That is much longer than a standard ID visit, so canvassers reach fewer doors in a shift.
Is deep canvassing partisan?
No. It is a method for structuring a conversation, and campaigns and advocacy groups working on many different issues use it. The script works the same way for any candidate, ballot question or cause.
Does deep canvassing work?
A 2016 randomized study published in Science found that deep canvass conversations reduced prejudice for at least three months. Results can differ by issue and by how well canvassers are trained, so test the method on your own doors first.
Plan your deep canvass
Choose the people you most need to persuade, train your most experienced canvassers on the script, and record both ratings at every door. Try Beacon free for 14 days and build your survey before the first shift.
