Aaron Rhyne Senior Class President Westminster, Colorado

People talked in their speeches about how qualified they were. But since everyone was pretty much equally qualified, it just became a popularity contest. If I or any else had taken a different approach, and just talked about the people they would be representing, they would have won. You need to relate to the audience, talk to them about participation in the organization and what you want to do FOR THEM. Not just about you.

Evan Saona Voter Amherst, New York

If you can show that you can improve the school, you will be elected. Many times in a speech, candidates dwell on themselves and why they "should" be President or Vice-President. People don't care why YOU want to, they want a reason why THEY should want you in office.

John E. Parman Voter Berkeley, California

A speech defines the candidate to the student body and is the most important element of the campaign. It's where elections are lost or won. Unfortunately, the general student body is not interested in school politics (or they'd be running themselves), so it's the candidate's job to interest them. Try to involve them by bringing up issues they'll care about.

Robert O'Brien Senior Council Senator Portland, Maine

Tell more of how you would help the school out. Not many people really did that. It was mostly, "Hi, I am so-and-so, vote for me."

Jen Sharpe Voter Phoenix, Arizona

If they talk about their goals and aspirations, it is interesting. If they just say "vote for me," it is annoying.

Jonathan Neal Kassebaum Voter San Diego, California

Focus not on what you've been involved in or how popular you are, but on what you intend to do once elected.

Christopher F. Heck Voter Fairborn, Ohio

One thing that definitely hurts is not taking real issues seriously.

Regan Gregory Voter Chattanooga, Tennessee

Most students will be more impressed by a candidate who intends to do something helpful for them than by one who wants to run a "Saved By The Bell" style election. If you can make your voters actually care about what is going on in their school, you're on your way to winning their votes.

Matthew Ellsworth Voter New Haven, Indiana

Talk about what you want to change, but word it as diplomatically as possible. When I ran for Class President in eleventh grade, I went over in my speech what I thought the student administration had done wrong the year before and how I would change it. As it turns out, friends of the previous year's President took my comments as a personal attack on him and it swayed their votes away from me. That doesn't mean you should avoid criticizing previous officers, but that you should speak in terms of what you will do, rather than pointing out what a bad job someone else has done.

Kris Long Class Vice-President Davie, Florida

You have to know what the audience is looking for. For example, in high school, all anyone wants to hear is about the cool Senior trips you're going to plan, where the prom is going to be, etc. It's about knowing what your audience is interested in.

Sara Herman Co-Governor of dormitory floor Bloomington, Indiana

Keep your platform simple (don't try to solve every problem in a 5-10 minute speech). Concentrate on a few issues and stick to those.

Jeff McMahon Freshmen Executive Committee Baton Rouge, Louisiana

The candidates who generally get the most support are the ones who speak to a direct subject, not a broad one, and pose a very possible solution. (It takes eyes to notice a problem, but it takes a brain to fix it!)

Jason Johns Voter Stockton, California

Everyone usually always has the same goals: to raise money and promote involvement and unity among students. Be more creative with your goals and make them specific. Have a plan on how to reach the goals.

Lisa Norlander Class Vice President Cupertino, California

Bring up examples of things to change that people would be like, "oh yeah, that does kinda piss me off..."

Brett R. Laurence Senior Class Treasurer Kennett Square, Pennslyvania

Have some ideas of programs that you might want to do. Not just "I think we should volunteer," but "I talked to the people at... and if I am elected, we can go volunteer there."

Stephan Fraser Voter El Paso, Texas

These two people running together made campaign promises that seemed very attractive, but were also POSSIBLE. Others were promising better things, but the student body knew that the headmaster wouldn't approve the things they wanted. Some things the winning team promised included more activities, booking better people to appear at assemblies, and continuing programs that the last class president had already started. Even though some of their ideas weren't entirely original, it was good to know that they recognized and would continue to run some of the good programs that had already gotten started.

Juan M. Gomez Voter New York, New York

Concentrate on the issues at hand, never say things simply because you think your audience wants to hear them. This is where one girl who was running for Junior Class President screwed up. Instead of telling the audience what she would try to do as President, she stood up and relied on her cheerleading/ popularity and said, "Most of you know me by now, I'm (name), and I wanna make our Junior year the best EVER! Yeah!" A few moments later, another girl got up and told everyone that she was open to any suggestions that we had to make it a great year, but at the time she was particularly focused on getting the number of absentee days raised (because the teachers had more than the students and everyone was sick from the construction going on in school at the time). She addressed everyone as intelligent human beings and relied purely on their judgment, not outrageous claims or popularity. Needless to say, she became our President.