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Tips for Writing Effective Letters to Politicians

  Letter-writing is one of the most effective tools for political action. Fundamentally, however, it is a process of trying to influence a person about whom you know very little. There are, therefore, no hard and fast rules. Experience tells us, however, that some techniques tend to be influential in conveying your point of view:
 
  1. Be respectful. Politicians have a difficult job. They are more likely to listen to your point if it is not accompanied by abuse.
     
  2. Tell them something about yourself. A simple phrase such as “I have spent the last 60 years hiking and camping in the Spray Valley” creates a mental image which brings you and your point alive and off the paper.
     
  3. Be concise. Write on only one issue at a time, and clearly state your point early on in the letter. Try to keep the letter to one page.
     
  4. Make sure you are writing to the right person.  Consider whether the issue is a federal, provincial or civic one.   You can find more information in the Legislative Contact section.
     
  5. Request that a particular action be taken. A request such as “Please pass legislation immediately which will keep oil wells out of our parks” has much more authority and is a better guide to action than “Please bear in mind the potential conflict between resource and natural values.”
     
  6. Aim for the public interest. Explain why you think your request will benefit the public as a whole, not simply you and your friends.
     
  7. Get the facts right. You don’t have to have all the facts (much less recite them all), but the ones you put in your letter must be correct. Don’t let the fact that you are not an expert prevent you from voicing your opinion, however.
     
  8. Relax and express yourself naturally. Remember that this is you expressing what’s on your mind. You don’t have to sound like Churchill or Lincoln.
     
  9. Ask for a reply. The best closing sentence is: “I look forward to receiving your response.”
     
  10. Consider if you should send a copy of the letter to anyone else. Your local representative should always receive a copy of a letter you send to the Prime Minister, Premier, or any cabinet minister. Also, are there other cabinet ministers whose portfolio bears upon the issue you are writing about? You many want to consider sending a copy to a member of the opposition as well.
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Some Unproven Dictums

Through the years some "common knowledge" has grown up around the art of political letter-writing. While there is no way to prove the following points, they are often cited, and seem to make sense.
 
bullet“To a politician, a letter from one person is taken to speak for a thousand other citizens who share the point of view but did not get around to writing.”
bullet“A letter from a child carries special weight.”
bulletTheories on the hierarchy of weight given to different formats:
bullet“A handwritten letter carries more weight than a typewritten one.” 
bullet“A hard copy letter carries more weight than an e-mail.”
bullet“An original letter carries more weight than a copied one.”
bullet“A letter carries more weight than a postcard or signature on a petition.”

The common theme here seems to be that the more effort that went into producing the letter, the more respect it will be accorded by the recipient.

Now get writing! Remember, after all those pointers, the biggest single impact from a letter is that you have taken the time to send it. The fact that one citizen has put pen (or printer) to paper on a given issue creates a far greater impression than the details of the letter itself.