I’m Kevin Nix and I started Stage Left to provide strategic guidance to lawmakers, civic leaders, and everyday voters on moving public policy issues forward in the public arena. Given today’s challenges in America, we need new – and renewed--skills, strategy, and inspiration. As a veteran of nine winning issue advocacy campaigns at the national and state levels, I'm about outcomes, and the process along the road to victory.
Where are you on the civic scale?
Everyone knows by now Talarico excels at verbal jujitsu — the undisputed king of one-liners in politics today.
7 steps in developing a battle plan
There was a physical object to oppose that was loud, expensive, secretive, and against community wishes. The public disgust was concrete—not abstract
AI data centers is one of those issues where public voice and actions made a measurable and massive difference.
The Democratic Party’s 2024 platform was 92 pages with 9 chapters and 26,000 words. By comparison, a much bigger project — the U.S. Constitution — was a mere 7,500 words. A two-pager for a policy direction is all that’s needed. For now.
1:1 or cohort. In-person and virtual.
Major societal changes are happening all at the same time in the civic arena. It’s disorienting, to say the least. I don’t have all of the answers since autocratic creep, AI acceleration, and disinformation are new dynamics in my lifetime. But together we talk through ways to adapt to–and shape–rapid change. Emphasis is on individual agency and group power.
Cohort / 90+ mins.
Adapting to changeStorytelling and message discipline are the most valuable skills in today’s attention economy. No matter how media and tech change, the fundamentals of public persuasion stay the same. Learn those fundamentals to move public opinion and how to use AI tools to conduct opinion research and boost creativity to make a story sing and stick. Practice message delivery live with mock interviews.
1:1 / up to 5 hours.
Message + Media coachingWhy are some social and political movements successful? This interactive briefing is for leaders and professionals who want to up their advocacy game. We look at the best practices across 10 progressive, mainstream, and conservative movements. What did they do well–and not so well? Each issue is different, but there is a general secret sauce that successful leaders tend to use. We discuss the recipe and how you can apply it to your own issue portfolio.
1:1 / 90 mins.
What worksGet in touch for coaching on a specific project or campaign.
For many years, I was a senior political message and media strategist in Washington, D.C., helping secure high-profile wins on healthcare policy, marriage equality, and military law. Now, back home in Texas, I teach college courses on civic leadership, policy advocacy, and power. My work has been published in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg Law, Texas Tribune, and Stanford Social Innovation Review. I have a Master’s in Government from Johns Hopkins University.
My newsletter is always free. It’s short, punchy, and instructive. I drop draft book chapters, new live classes and sprints, and/or random notes into each week’s edition. Delivered to your inbox Saturday AM.
