When advocating for an issue, a bill or yourself, it is essential that you have a clearly defined goal, a concise message, and the right tools and tactics. I have been successfully conducting public affairs work advocating for clients and issues for more than 25 years. While experience and relationships are key, here are 10 tips that you can use to further develop and engage in your advocacy efforts:
- Decide your desired outcome. You should be able to articulate it in one sentence.
- Do the research before you begin. Know the facts. You should have at least three facts that support your position.
- Successful advocacy is about storytelling. Paint a picture of how your desired outcome will have a positive impact. Can you tell your story in about one minute?
- Make your message clear and concise. Create a one-pager outlining the why, what, who and how. You don’t need to overwhelm individuals with lots of paper!
- Friends support friends. Identify and engage champions to support your efforts.
- Engage diverse and nontraditional advocates to join your team.
- Investigate what your opposition is saying and doing.
- The best efforts are multi-faceted and use a variety of tactics. Be creative.
- Always take the high road. You should not publicly criticize other people or organizations. You never know who will be influential in the future.
- Recognize that success might not be instant. Develop a plan/campaign that is flexible enough to address challenges and opportunities.
