PREFACE

Yes, school elections are usually popularity contests.

But anyone can win. You don't need to be popular.

You're a voter--do you choose one candidate over another because he or she is popular?

School elections are not necessarily won by the candidate who's the best-looking, who's the best athlete, who's the smartest, who has the highest grades, who's the most talented, who has the most experience, who's the funniest, who dresses most expensively, who throws the biggest parties, or who has the most friends.

It's not about having the biggest or the most posters, or about spending the most money on handing out candy, or about giving the most intelligent and professional speech, or even about having the best ideas or being most qualified for the office.

Winning a high school election all comes down to four things:

1. THE RIGHT ATTITUDE

2. A GREAT SPEECH

3. TALKING TO PEOPLE AND ASKING THEM TO VOTE

4. GETTING YOUR NAME REMEMBERED

Voters' minds are almost always made up during the campaign period, not before.

Anyone who is sincere and appealing can win.

In fact, people who seem less likely to win can actually have a much better chance of winning than the more popular people, if they want it more, try harder, and take care to do it right.

Nobody really likes voting for the same old people, especially when they become full of themselves and start thinking they're somehow better than everyone else.

It's not about who's popular, it's about who's well-liked. There's a huge difference.

It doesn't matter whether you're popular or not, well-known or not, or experienced or not. If you genuinely want to be elected into office for the right reasons, and if you're willing to take some risks in putting yourself "out there" and sincerely asking people to support you, you can get enough votes to win.

Underdogs win all the time.

Here's how.