These how-to’s are designed to challenge and inspire you as you grow as an advocate. By attempting and accomplishing each one, you build skill, talent, and confidence in exercising your personal and political power.
RESULTS’ founders believed that a strong grassroots movement needs community and support to be effective. Our group model reinforces this, but we know that our groups are only as strong as the individuals who make them. Each person brings unique strengths and contributions.
As advocates, we must practice radical self-care and resilience to keep the flame lit from within. The famous poet and activist Audre Lorde said, “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” In times of trauma, grief, disappointment, and fear, we must support our own and each other’s wellness. By caring for ourselves and each other, we can build a stronger, more resilient movement to end poverty.
Ending poverty is not simply a matter of feeding hungry people. We must systematically and specifically change policies which keep millions of people in the U.S. teetering on the edge of insecurity regarding healthcare and food. For the first step toward becoming an effective activist who can speak powerfully about our issues, learn the background and basics of at least one RESULTS U.S. or global campaign. Then find a personal story that brings the issue home. A personal story conveys powerful images that facts and figures cannot. To really speak powerfully about an issue in a way that will truly move the listener, learn and tell a moving story that will put a human face on the problem and illustrate a clear solution.
Learning how to speak powerfully about our issues is one of the most important tools we possess. RESULTS has created an easy format for our volunteers to use to create powerful “laser talks” – short and compelling talks, less than 2 minutes long, that are the backbone of our advocacy work. We’ve created a simple acronym, EPIC, to help you remember the basics of creating your talk. The letters in EPIC stand for Engage, state the Problem, Inform about the solution, and give the Call to action.
E = Engage. Here, you want to get your listener’s attention with a dramatic fact or short statement.
P = State the Problem. Here you present causes of the problem you introduced in the first section.
I = Inform about Solutions. Here you inform the listener about a solution to the problem you just presented.
C = Call to action. Now that you’ve engaged your listener, presented the problem and informed him or her of a solution, what do you want the listener to do? Make the action something specific so that you will be able to follow up on whether or not the action has been taken.
We know that the healthiest groups are the ones that share leadership. Through delegation and collaboration, groups become more robust and can weather the bumps of keeping the group together and moving forward. Moreover, if everyone feels that he or she is doing something meaningful — contributing his or her talents — your group will stay vibrant and growing. Rotate roles and responsibilities and create new ones as needed.
Take a look at your talents and interests. How might they be of service to your group? Match your skills and schedule with a present group need and speak up! Your group will love you for it and will grow stronger because of it.
None of the great social movements of our time occurred until the political will was great enough to demand a shift in public policy. The civil rights movement and the women’s suffrage movement are examples of active, everyday citizens using their ideas and actions to generate the political will for change. This is why it is so powerful to come together as we do in RESULTS, learn individually and collectively how to tap into our passion for justice, educate ourselves about the problems and solutions to hunger and poverty, and hold our elected leaders accountable for real change.
First, take a look at our RESULTS Individual Planning Form. Next, take a look at the full sweep of Advocacy Basics that are here to challenge and encourage you. Which goal could be the next bold, courageous, amazing, and new thing you could do to raise your voice, take a stand, and make a difference?