Advocacy Tools

COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY

  • Click here for a sample email to send to your legislator. This will open to send an email, be sure to replace all placeholder text.

  • PHONE SCRIPT — Call to State Legislator

    If a staffer answers:

    "Hi, my name is [Your Name], and I'm a physician/constituent in [City/Town], in [Senator's/Representative's] district. I'm calling to ask the [Senator/Representative] to [support/oppose] [Bill Name/ Number or issue], which affects [brief description of issue].

    As a physician, I see firsthand how this issue affects my patients. [One sentence with a specific example or impact — e.g., 'Patients in my practice have had to wait weeks for treatments that should be immediate.']

    I'd really appreciate it if the [Senator/Representative] would:

    [specific ask, eg]:

    1.  'vote yes on this bill' 

    2. ‘co-sponsor this legislation' 

    3. 'support physician-backed reforms on this issue'

    Would you let me know if [Senator/Representative] has taken a position on this, or pass along my concern?

    Thank you so much for your time."


    If you reach voicemail:

    Leave the same message, but slow down and repeat your name and city clearly at the start and end, since these are the two things most likely to get logged.

  • Humans are wired to tell and hear stories, it has historically been our primary way to communicate. Our elected representatives want to hear how their decisions impact real people.

    The Story Arc

    1. Introduce the protagonist (e.g., you, a patient)

    2. Inciting Incident — what caused the conflict/problem and spurs the the protagonist to action

    3. Obstacles - what are the barriers the protagonist faces

    4. Turning Point- what allows a change

    5. Resolution - what happens when the the problem is addressed

    6. Teaching points- what can we learn from the story