Advocacy Tip of the Month, May 2008

Have a good story? Tell Congress!

As you know, the days of sending form letters to your members of Congress are long gone. In the last decade, the volume of letters sent to lawmakers has increased by about 300%. This means that in order to have your letter read by a member of Congress and/or their staff, you must personalize your communications with your elected officials.

When sending a personalized letters to Capitol Hill, it is important to tell a story to help members of Congress visualize how the issue affects their constituents. A good story will strike an emotional connection between the member of Congress and the issue you are advocating while outlining what their constituents will "lose"if they do not take the suggested action on the issue.

In order to achieve the connection, your communication should give real life examples of students and scholars affected by the legislation. If you have permission, you should use the name of the student or scholar and provide rich details about their situation to bring your story to life. Examples of effective stories can be found on the Advocacy Resources page on the NAFSA Web site.

Action Step

Tell Congress a Story
Visit the Take Action Center and send a letter to your Senators. Add a personal story to the first paragraph of the sample letter provided for the Simon Study Abroad Act and/or the ACTION Act.