Citizen's Handbook

"Citizen's Handbook: To Influencing Elected Officials" by Bradford Fitch (2010) is a short and very practical guide to talking to your congressman, Senator, or local city or state official. The basic message is 'These are all real people who are working very hard. Be prepared. Be polite. Be concise. Ask for what you want. Stay on topic.'

I have been doing this approach for years. It works very well. The Handbook taught me subtleties that I need and will use next week.