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What is Deep Canvassing?
Deep canvassing is a persuasion technique that uses extended, empathetic conversations to shift attitudes on complex issues. Unlike traditional canvassing focused on quick voter identification, deep canvassing invites people to share personal stories and reflect on their own values. A single 10-minute conversation can reduce prejudice and change opinions for three months or longer.
Read on to find out more about deep canvassing and the attributes of this method that could help to strengthen public support for your campaign or cause.
Research by Broockman and Kalla published in Science (2016) demonstrated that one deep canvassing conversation reduced prejudice against transgender people by approximately 10 percentage points - with effects lasting at least three months. No other form of political communication has shown this kind of durable attitude change.
How Deep Canvassing Works
Deep canvassing follows a specific conversational structure. It is not improvised. Volunteers train extensively before knocking on a single door.
The conversation unfolds in stages:
- Open with curiosity. Ask the voter their opinion on the issue. Do not lead with your position. Start with "How do you feel about [topic]?" and listen.
- Rate their feeling. Ask the voter to rate their support on a scale of 0-10. This gives you a baseline and makes the conversation concrete.
- Ask for a story. Invite the voter to share a personal experience connected to the issue. "Has this ever affected you or someone you know?" This is where the real conversation begins.
- Share your own story. Vulnerability builds trust. The canvasser shares a genuine personal experience related to the topic. This is not a talking point - it is a real moment of human connection.
- Explore the tension. Gently ask how their personal experience connects to their stated opinion. This invites reflection without pressure. "Given what you just shared, how does that shape how you think about [topic]?"
- Re-rate. Ask the voter to rate their support again. Many shift positions after reflecting on their own story.
- Thank and close. Regardless of outcome, thank them genuinely for their time and honesty.
The entire conversation takes 10-20 minutes. That is 5-10 times longer than a traditional canvassing contact. The investment pays off in lasting attitude change that short interactions cannot produce.
For ready-to-use conversation frameworks, see our deep canvassing script guide.
The Science Behind Deep Canvassing
Deep canvassing is not anecdotal. It is one of the most rigorously studied persuasion methods in political science.
Broockman & Kalla (2016): The Breakthrough Study
Researchers David Broockman and Joshua Kalla conducted a randomized field experiment in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Canvassers had 10-minute conversations with voters about transgender rights.
Results:
- ~10 percentage point reduction in prejudice against transgender people
- Effects lasted at least 3 months in follow-up surveys
- Both transgender and non-transgender canvassers produced significant effects
- The attitude shift was comparable to the change in American attitudes toward gay people between 1998 and 2012 - achieved in a single conversation
This study, published in Science, was the first rigorous evidence that brief conversations could durably reduce prejudice.
Kalla & Broockman (2020): Immigration Attitudes
A follow-up study tested deep canvassing on immigration attitudes. Canvassers had conversations asking voters to recall a time they were treated differently.
Results:
- Significant reduction in exclusionary attitudes toward immigrants
- Effects persisted for at least 4.5 months
- The technique worked across partisan lines
PNAS (2025): Persuasive Narratives
The most recent research, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2025), studied nearly 1,500 conversations. Sharing persuasive narratives during deep canvassing conversations durably changed attitudes on immigration policy. Effects lasted at least five weeks post-conversation.
Why Traditional Persuasion Fails
For comparison, Kalla and Broockman (2018) analyzed 49 field experiments covering nearly 300,000 voter contacts and found that the average persuasive effect of traditional campaign contact is close to zero. Traditional canvassing works for turnout but not for changing minds. Deep canvassing is the exception.
The Benefits of Deep Canvassing:
- Focus on feelings, not on facts: often, appealing to someone through facts alone can result in your potential supporter feeling overwhelmed or disinterested. While facts and statistics are undoubtedly important to make your case, an emotionally persuasive argument is what people respond to the most. This is why deep canvassing is so effective- by building empathetic connections instead of fixating exclusively on facts, this form of persuasion is far more likely to have a lasting impact on your constituents, thereby improving your chances of securing their support.
- Gain insights into the needs of your community: by actively engaging with the public and listening to their concerns in relation to your campaign or cause, deep canvassing can allow you to gain a meaningful sense of what your community needs, and accordingly adjust your campaign strategy to take account of this. This can ensure that your campaign and its message are appropriately focused on the actual needs and interests of the people to whom it pertains, thereby increasing the chances of your campaign piquing the interests of your community and gaining their approval.
- Provides excellent training to your volunteers: by requiring your volunteers to engage in more in-depth, meaningful interactions with potential supporters, your volunteers’ canvassing skills will rapidly improve, giving them the confidence to engage in more acts of volunteerism and spread your message even further.
The Long-Lasting Effects of Deep Canvassing
The benefits of deep canvassing outlined in the previous section would suggest that it is, in theory, a more efficacious means of canvassing than traditional methods. But how does it actually perform in practice? Are these benefits borne out in reality? According to recent findings, the answer is a resounding yes- in 2018, Kalla and Broockman completed a study into the effectiveness of different canvassing techniques, in which they found that short phone calls, television and radio advertisements are only capable of changing an opinion for approximately one week. Deep canvassing, by comparison, can result in a change of opinion lasting as long as three months. This would suggest that deep canvassing produces measurable and long-lasting effects that actually meaningfully influence public opinion, making it a particularly powerful tactic for anyone looking to start a campaign or cause.
When to Use Deep Canvassing
Deep canvassing is powerful but resource-intensive. Use it strategically.
Use deep canvassing when:
- The issue is values-based and emotionally charged - LGBTQ rights, immigration, reproductive health, racial justice
- You have time to train volunteers thoroughly (8-16 hours of role-playing and practice)
- You need durable opinion change, not just short-term turnout
- Your opposition is soft - people with conflicted feelings, not hardened opponents
- The campaign timeline allows longer conversations at fewer doors
Do NOT use deep canvassing when:
- Your goal is voter turnout on election day - traditional canvassing is more efficient
- You need to cover large territory quickly - deep canvassing reaches 5-10 people per shift vs 30-50
- Volunteers are untrained or unavailable for extensive preparation
- The issue is not emotionally personal - policy details respond better to traditional persuasion
Key Principles of Effective Deep Canvassing
Five principles separate effective deep canvassing from well-intentioned but ineffective conversations.
- Nonjudgmental listening. Never correct, argue, or express disappointment. The voter must feel safe to be honest about their real feelings - including prejudice.
- Vulnerability from the canvasser. Sharing your own story first signals trust and models the openness you want from the voter. Scripted talking points destroy this effect.
- Analogic perspective-taking. Ask voters to recall a time they personally experienced exclusion, unfair treatment, or being judged. Then connect that feeling to the experience of the affected group. This builds empathy through lived experience, not abstract arguments.
- Let silence work. After asking a reflective question, pause. Give the voter space to think. Rushing to fill silence breaks the reflection that produces attitude change.
- Measure the shift. Use the 0-10 rating scale at the beginning and end of the conversation. This makes change visible to both the canvasser and the voter.
Real-World Examples
LGBTQ Rights
The Leadership LAB at the Los Angeles LGBT Center pioneered deep canvassing. Their canvassers had conversations about transgender rights in South Florida neighborhoods. The results became the Broockman & Kalla (2016) study - the first proof that brief conversations could durably reduce transphobia.
Immigration Policy
People's Action and allied organizations used deep canvassing in swing states to shift attitudes on immigration. Canvassers asked voters to share a time they felt excluded, then connected that experience to the immigrant experience. The approach reduced anti-immigrant sentiment across partisan lines.
Reproductive Health
Planned Parenthood and advocacy groups have used deep canvassing techniques to discuss reproductive rights. By centering personal stories rather than policy arguments, canvassers opened conversations with voters who would normally shut down on this topic.
Climate Action
Environmental organizations adapted deep canvassing for climate conversations. Instead of citing scientific data, canvassers ask voters about their experience with extreme weather, changing seasons, or concerns for their children's future. Personal connection to climate effects proves more persuasive than statistics.
Conclusion
As has been demonstrated throughout this article, deep canvassing offers many significant benefits to those embarking on their canvassing journey. By focusing on forming deeper connections with potential supporters, deep canvassing allows you to meaningfully convey your messages to constituents in a compelling manner, while adapting your strategy in line with their responses. This offers not only benefits for your volunteers’ canvassing capabilities, but also your campaign as a whole by ensuring your messages last in the minds of your community in the long-run. For these reasons, deep canvassing is undoubtedly a canvassing tactic worth investing in. Why not try it out today and see how it helps your cause, organization or election campaign message to spread!
The most "Qomon" questions
What is deep canvassing?
Deep canvassing is a persuasion technique using extended, empathetic conversations to shift attitudes on complex issues. Canvassers and voters share personal stories, creating genuine connection that produces lasting opinion change - up to three months or longer.
How is deep canvassing different from regular canvassing?
Traditional canvassing uses short, scripted contacts focused on voter identification and turnout. Deep canvassing uses 10-20 minute conversations focused on storytelling and empathy to change minds. Traditional canvassing works for mobilization. Deep canvassing works for persuasion. Try Qomon to coordinate both approaches from one platform.
Does deep canvassing actually work?
Yes. Randomized experiments show deep canvassing reduces prejudice by approximately 10 percentage points with effects lasting 3+ months. It is the only form of brief political contact proven to produce durable attitude change (Broockman & Kalla, Science, 2016).
How long does a deep canvassing conversation take?
Conversations typically last 10-20 minutes. This is significantly longer than traditional 2-4 minute canvassing contacts but produces lasting persuasion effects that short conversations cannot achieve. Book a demo to see how Qomon helps teams plan and track deep canvassing shifts.
What topics work best for deep canvassing?
Deep canvassing is most effective on emotionally charged, values-based issues where personal stories can bridge divides. Proven topics include LGBTQ rights, immigration, reproductive health, and climate action. It is less effective on purely technical policy questions.
Sources
https://www.vox.com/2020/1/29/21065620/broockman-kalla-deep-canvassing
American Political Science Review , Volume 112 , Issue 1 , February 2018
