Put out a survey. A good way to find out what your classmates want is to give them a survey to fill out. You can make it open-ended, with questions like “What improvement do you most want to see in our school?” or more specific, by asking them to choose from a variety of options. Talk to other students. You can also speak to your classmates in person about what they want to see happen in your school. Try starting with your friends. You can say something like “I really want to run for student council Vice President, but to be a good one, I need to know what everyone wants from their VP. What do you want to see your VP do? What would you like to change about the school?"[3] X Research source
Your campaign slogan can be funny or serious, but it should be simple. Something like “Jane Seymour for Vice President” will work. So will something like “The most interesting man in the world doesn’t vote for student council often. But when he does, he votes for Jane!”
Make posters. Your posters can be as simple or as flashy as you like. It might help to see what others are doing and then do the opposite – if everyone is making bright, bold, flashy posters, make a simpler but still easily noticeable poster. If everyone else is going plain, go bright! This will help you stand out. Make a handout. Your classmates will be seeing a lot of posters during the campaign, so consider making a small handout to give to them, too. This should have your name, your slogan, and why you’re running. But make sure your school allows these first – some schools only allow posters!
Start by introducing yourself! You can say “Hi! My name is Jane and I’m running for Student Council Vice President!” Not everyone knows who you are, so introducing yourself is a good first step, and keeping it simple will help them remember you. Tell them why you’re qualified to be Vice President. This is why thinking about these things ahead of time is helpful! You need to tell your class/school what will make you a good Vice President. You can say something like, “I’m a junior so I have experience knowing what the school needs” or “I’ve served as Student Council Secretary so I already know how it works!” Explain your platform and how you plan to execute it. This should be short and to the point: list the main thing you want to address and how you plan to address it. You can leave a lot of the detail to your handouts and conversations you have with your classmates. End with your slogan. Ending your speech with your slogan helps your classmates link the posters they see in the hallway to you and your plans. [9] X Research source
You don’t have to wear something super formal, but you should at least look professional. Try wearing a jacket and some nice pants. Your hair should look neat. It might not be fair, but we all get judged by our appearance. If you look like you take your campaign seriously, other people will take you seriously, too. [11] X Research source
Thank your volunteers. Make sure you say thank you to everyone who helped with your campaign. You can do this in person or you can write thank you notes. Or you can do both! Remove campaign material. Take down your posters and clean up any of your handouts that might still be lying around. This is especially important if your school has rules about when this needs to be accomplished. Congratulate your opponents. Whether you win or not, you should thank the people you ran against. This will help you maintain a good reputation if you decide to run again for another position or if you run for reelection in the same position. And it’s also good manners![13] X Research source
