TED Talk: An elected official tells us how to get his attention..

[Fumesucker]

I'm not sure whether I buy this or not, it sounds plausible but will it really overpower big money and face to face?

He says if you do it his way within three months the politician will be calling you when an issue arises.

http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/838

Politicians are strange creatures, says politician Omar Ahmad. And the best way to engage them on your pet issue is a monthly handwritten letter. Ahmad shows why old-fashioned correspondence is more effective than email, phone or even writing a check -- and shares the four simple steps to writing a letter that works.

Omar Ahmad is an internet infrastructure maven and a member of the City Council for San Carlos, California.

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. To a point he is correct, since this takes time

[Fumesucker]

2. Could you expand on that a bit?

I didn't quite follow you.

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. When you write a hand written note

it is perceived as taking more time than any other means of communications. So getting a hand written note means you are more serious.

It also works in other business.

It is a game of perception purely.

[DCKit]

3. I would have to agree... physical, written correspondence.

Email, tweets, faxes and voicemail are all just noise and too easily ignored.

[pscot]

4. The comment thread is interesting

One notes that you can get your name put on a list by signing a letter. A Saudi respondent says there's not much chance the great man will ever see it, but others surely will.

[MilesColtrane]

6. Big K&R

[MineralMan]

7. It works. Mailed letters are getting scarce. Because of that

they are noticed. Regular correspondence on paper also gets noticed. It doesn't have to be handwritten, though...just mailed through the USPS.

Anything you can do to make your communications different from most of the communications gets noticed. Regularity means that your communications are treated as something you take seriously, so there's a greater chance that the addressee will take them seriously.

I've been doing this for years, and it works very, very well. Try it.

Hint: Keep your communications businesslike and civil. If you don't, you'll still be remembered, but not in a good way.

[bobbolink]

8. I think this is standard (although ignored) wisdom, and something I like to do.

However, since the white powder scares, letters actually take a LOT of time to get delivered. Months.

I know that is true of the Washington offices.

I don't know about their home offices.

But very good advice, and thank you for mentioning it.

There was also a Rep several years ago... no longer in office... who said everyone should demand a face-to-face meeting once a year. Don't settle for talking to an aide, but demand to see your Rep in person. Makes sense... they are our employees.

He also said that if Reps get 1,000 pieces of mail about a topic, you can be sure they will take it seriously. That is why I get so frustrated that people won't take homelessness seriously. One voice doesn't do much.