Everyone feels passionate about something or other in their life at some point. Taking action sometimes requires petitioning. Here are some simple tips on how to go about the process of starting a petition.
• First of all put the issue into words. This will be your opening statement in the petition. Don’t worry if it sounds bad the first time, it will require some rewriting and editing before it is actually printed out.
Describe the problem that is being faced, why it is a problem and why people should do something about it.
• Present your ideas for a solution clearly and concisely. They can be radical but they need to have some logic in them if you want to win people over.
• Be careful of your tone in the whole petition; be passionate but not angry. Remember, you are trying to win people over and /or trying to galvanize them into action. If you come across as an angry person throughout the entire spiel, you may not be taken seriously.
• Present you evidence. Photographs, documents, audio recordings, video recordings etc., whatever it is try and present the most damning evidence possible. In the case of audio and video this might be a little difficult, if you are out and about, but not impossible by any means.
• Depending on what kind of issue it is, you will have to change your method of collecting signatures. For example if it is an extremely localized problem, a door-to-door signature collection campaign is more than enough. You can also set up signing tables in malls, send out teams to collect signatures or even use mobile (vehicle based) broadcasting and signature collecting if your cause demands it; however, all of this depends on the size of the problem and the area it is affecting.
