HOW TO WRITE AN IMPACTFUL MANIFESTO So you’re thinking of running for election? Well, one of the most important things that you need is your manifesto — a document that tells voters what you’re going to do for them if elected. We want to take you through the four steps of writing an impactful manifesto to help your message reach voters efficiently. STEP 1 — GATHERING IDEAS Right, first thing’s first. You need to ask yourself two very simple questions: why am I standing, and what do I want to achieve? This will be the starting point of your manifesto. Your manifesto is broken down into three 100 word sections. The first describes why you’d be good for the job, the second explains why you’re standing, and the final section outlines what you want to achieve. Once the first section is done, it’s time to start brainstorming some ideas and doing a bit of research. You might want to consider...
›› The Students’ Union strategic plan ›› Talking to the current officers ›› Checking out the policies coming from Union Council ›› What matters to your friends and other students ›› Having a detailed look at the job descriptions STEP 2 — BOILING DOWN THE IDEAS Now that you have all your ideas about what you want to cover in your manifesto, it’s time to start the cull. Some of your ideas, whilst brilliant, might not be realistic — for example building a giant slide through Student Central sounds like an amazing idea, but will (probably) never happen. Remember you only have 100 words per section, so use them wisely!
HUDDERSFIELD SU ELECTIONS MARCH 2016
Tip — when writing about what you would like to achieve, we advise breaking your ideas down into three to five bullets points, each no more than 20 words. This not only makes it easier for you to explain your ideas, but also helps the voter to understand you better!
STEP 3 — LET’S GET SMART We’re not talking ball gowns and bow ties (save that for results night)! SMART is a tool that will help you focus your objectives and make sure that you have clear manifesto points. So what is SMART?
›› S pecific: Is your point clearly defined? ›› M easurable: Can you measure whether or not it was successful?
›› A chievable: Is it actually going to happen? ›› R elevant: Do students actually care about this? ›› T ime-bound: When will you have it completed by? For example, “By the end of the academic year 2016/17, at least 50% of all sports teams will be led by women” is a SMART manifesto point.
STEP 4 — TAKE IT FOR A TEST DRIVE Now that you have something down on paper, it’s time to go out and see what real students think of it. Speak to your friends, classmates and random students across campus and ask them their thoughts. This is a key part of the writing process because it will give you some feedback on your ideas and help you to see if you’re on to a winner.
So there you go — four steps to writing a great, interesting and impactful manifesto. Don’t forget, if you need help the Student Voice team will be running manifesto drop-in sessions for all candidates from the start of nominations. Just ask at the Students’ Union Helpdesk and we’ll point you in the right direction. If you have any questions in the meantime please don’t hesitate to contact campaigns@hud.ac.uk.
Good luck! HUDDERSFIELD SU ELECTIONS MARCH 2016