It’s 5:30 p.m. and you’ve had a long day at work. You are just about to sit down to eat when… the phone rings. It’s a telemarketer, or a political campaign, or a scam caller, and their dialing has disrupted your dinner. It is a scene that we’ve all experienced, and one that usually elicits the most visceral of reactions. But what if that one call meant the difference between winning and losing your election?  For many candidates, phones are the most cost-effective strategy to communicate with hundreds or thousands of voters across their district. And unlike digital or mail advertising, phones are a vehicle for genuine conversation and persuasion. So how does one walk the line between disruptive dialer and campaign-winning communicator?

This week on the Election University Podcast, our hosts Jason Bennett and Reiny Cohen talk robocalls, interactive messaging, telephone town halls, and more with phone strategy extraordinaire Chris Hayler. With more than ten years of experience at Stones’ Phones, Chris is an expert in optimizing automated calling to provide interactive and persuasive conversation. He explains what makes phones effective, common pitfalls of amateur robocallers, and how to make your automated calls less infuriating. Tune in!

You can learn more about Chris Hayler and his work with Stones’ Phones on their website, here. You can keep up with their work by following them on twitter @StonesPhones or on Facebook.

Let us know what you think, listeners! Are you seeing phone callers in a whole new light? Are you going to try out this strategy to get out the vote? Or are you a phone-skeptic? Was your podcast-listening interrupted by a disruptive dialer? We want to know about it! Email us at podcast@ElectionU.com or leave a note in the comment section below.

You can listen to the show right here on the EU website or by subscribing in iTunes, Apple Podcasts, GooglePlay, Spotify, Stitcher, Soundcloud, iHeartRadio, and more! If you do subscribe, please leave us a rating and review. We love the feedback and we read every one! If you'd like to hear a particular topic on our podcast, please email podcast@electionu.com. As always, thanks for listening!