Your Voice Counts: Tips for Powerful Advocacy
How to communicate effectively with policymakers and legislators
Tips for Effective Letter Writing
Advocacy is not hard. Still, it is estimated that only 10 percent
of all Americans will write to their congressperson or state legislator in
their lifetime. But your representative knows that if you feel strongly enough
to contact him or her about an issue, there are many others who feel as you do.
So when you take the time to contact your legislators, you're raising your
voice not just for yourself but also for many others!
Tips for Effective Letter Writing
A personal letter from a constituent
is a very powerful advocacy tool. Here
are some tips to help you get your message across:
Be Brief. Remember that policymakers often have a lot
to read. Therefore, try to get your
entire message on one page. If writing
longhand, take care to write legibly.
Be focused. Address only one issue per letter. In a short first paragraph, state the issue
and your position and use the rest of the letter to support it. If the subject of your letter is a bill, cite
it by name or number if that information is available.
Be personal. Try to help your representative understand
your position by giving him the personal side of the issue; tell your
story.
Be factual. Write your policymaker from a strong knowledge
base. Where necessary, use key facts to support your position.
Be original. Letters are more effective when they are
original. But if you don't have time to start from scratch, use sample letters
which are often prepared by advocacy organizations. Consider personalizing the letter
by adding information about how the issue affects you, your family or
community.
Be persistent. Legislators need to be able to tell their
colleagues that they have been inundated with calls and letters supporting a
particular position.
Be grateful. Thank your legislators if
they have a good record of support. Our
friends need to know that their support is appreciated.
Be confident. Your voice counts.
Email is a fast and easy way to contact your
representatives. However, you need to
consider a few things if you’re going to use email. First, recognize that it’s easy for your
message to get “lost” in email clutter.
After all, how many times do you just quickly glance at your own
email? Be cautious about the informal
style most of us use when writing email messages; such a style is not well
suited to communicating with legislators. Generally, a mailed (or faxed) letter
makes a better impression and is most likely to get the attention of
legislators and their staffers. However,
it's more important to get your message out than to wait until you have the
time to compose a letter -- especially if you know that time will never
come! When sending an email, keep in
mind the letter writing tips noted above.
If time is short, you may want to consider calling your legislator (see
below).
Calling your legislators
is very effective, particularly in the days just before they are scheduled to
take action or vote on your issue. Basic
advocacy and letter-writing tips apply here too: advocate from a strong knowledge base and do
so in an honest, brief and focused manner.
It’s probably even more important to be concise on the phone because
time is often very short. To prepare for
the conversation, jot down a few notes containing the key points you want to
make, and refer to the notes during your call.
Although it is generally most effective
for you to call legislators in their main office, which is where most of their
staff is located, you may also call their district office to avoid a toll
charge.
Unless
you know the elected official, you will almost always speak with a staff person
and not the official directly. Don’t feel put-off. In fact, when calling ask to speak to the
legislative aide who handles disability issues. This person serves as the eyes
and ears of the legislator and is the person the legislator relies upon to
learn how an issue affects the district. Over time, as you develop
relationships with key staff members, you will come to be seen as an
authoritative and valuable information resource. Hopefully, the next time an
important disability-related issue is being considered, that staff person will
turn to you for your opinion, and will convey your views to the legislator
directly.
Visiting a legislator is probably
the most effective method of advocating.
Again, more than likely, you will meet with a staff person, not the
member. Keep these points in mind when
you are preparing for the visit:
·
If your legislator does not seem supportive,
express your disappointment in simple terms, leave the door open for her to
reconsider, and offer any assistance you can while she formulates her final
positions.