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Shaping Public Opinion letters | petitions | surveys | reciprocit y | gaining suppor t There ar e a variety o f othe r usefu l skill s that ca n b e use d t o help shape public opinion on a particular issue . This chapte r discusses som e way s t o alte r o r modif y people' s view s o f a n issue. It should b e acknowledge d a t the outse t tha t influencin g public opinio n take s time. Do no t expec t that sayin g somethin g once will be sufficient t o change the way the government o r the public thinks abou t a n issue, even i f your comments ar e picke d up by the media . If yo u ar e promotin g a ne w ide a o r a ne w wa y o f lookin g a t things, b e prepare d t o repea t you r messag e man y time s i n different ways in order to drive it home. For example, it took two years for the Society for Protection of the Harbour to convince a significant numbe r o f peopl e tha t protectin g Victori a Harbou r from excessive reclamatio n wa s an important issue . I. Writing Letters Since the number of people you can speak to directly i s limited, writing letter s i s a good wa y o f reachin g a wider audience . For example, i f yo u wan t t o motivat e th e peopl e i n you r distric t t o organise a community cleanup you can drop letters in local post boxes. Write simply an d clearly. Many of the tips used in writing Getting Heard K!BBffiJH«W»Mffl press release s wil l b e usefu l here . Remember th e basi c rul e o f "Who, What, When , Where , Why , How " an d kee p you r lette r a s shor t a s possible - althoug h yo u d o hav e mor e leewa y tha n yo u woul d i n a press release . Letters to the Edito r Writing a "Letter to the Editor " is one eas y way of gettin g your messag e across t o thousand s o f people , particularl y i n th e English-languag e newspapers. However, not every Chinese newspaper has a letters section. A well-writte n lette r tha t i s shor t an d succinc t usuall y stand s a muc h better chance of being printed than one that is rambling. Make sure that you dea l wit h onl y on e subjec t pe r lette r an d us e fact s o r figure s t o support your argument i f available. Check wit h th e newspape r fo r thei r printin g requirement s befor e sending your letter off. Some newspaper s requir e a daytime telephon e number, nam e and address details and so on for verification purposes . A call to action can also b e included i n your letter . Let the pape r kno w what yo u ar e plannin g an d as k peopl e wh o ar e concerne d abou t th e same issu e t o contac t you . Or tel l them tha t yo u ar e goin g t o sen d a petition off and ask them to contact you if they would like to participate. II. Petition s A petition i s a statement o f belief o r information on a particular are a of concern tha t i s signed b y man y people . It is usuall y i n the for m o f a n open letter and can be circulated either by hand or electronically. Make sure yo u kno w who m yo u wan t t o petition . Targe t th e appropriat e person an d organisatio n (se e Chapte r 1 0 an d th e appendice s fo r contact detail s of some government bodie s and representatives) . The bes t way to write a petition i s to be clear an d concise abou t wha t you are trying to say. For example: "We support equa...

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