Building
Relationships

How to build relationships with government

Getting access to the right people in Government, the people who can make change happen, can be difficult. So when you do find an opportunity to speak to these very busy people, being cabinet Ministers and Senators, make sure that you

“Know what you want. It is very frustrating for a Minister to have people come in without a specific objective and ask … and it must be realistic.  Understand what is realistic. Understand the process. And understand the political psyche… Just because something is a problem in 6 states and 2 territories, does not mean it’s a Commonwealth problem.”
Michael Wooldridge.

Download the guide for How To Engage With Government and review your current advocacy strategy against the recommendations Michael provides.

Working with the Public Service to advocate policy change

“When you’re dealing with officials, be honest, open, and up front about things, be rigorous, have statistics and research to prove your case. And remember to say thank you when you have a success.”
Lynelle Briggs, AO

Download the guide for Engaging with the Public Service and consider how you can create some packages that are people and service delivery focused.

Getting awareness for hearing loss through the mainstream media

“News is a 24/7 hungry beast! When a story breaks it’s important that you’re available all day. Once your campaign goes live you don’t get a day off.”
Sheryl Taylor

For more practical ways that you can help the media make a great story about hearing loss download the Mainstream Media Awareness Checklist now and start planning some human interest, quality of life stories that you can pitch to News Directors.

Creating an online community of hearing loss advocates

“The real power of Social Media is in the opportunity presented by friends of fans. By providing your community with great quality content that enriches their lives, they will want to share with their friends.”
Shanelle Newton Clapham

To learn more about how your organisation can start to build an educated community of hearing loss advocates download Shanelle’s 10 Tips to Social Media Success and start gathering research, videos, images and articles for your content library now. By following Shanelle’s advice, we can make Hearing Loss a national health priority