24 Understanding Motivators Reaching the Heart The key to evoking a caring response to your efforts for the MS cause is to reach the heart of your audience. Whether you are speaking to someone in person, on the phone, by email, or on social media, consider how you can help them relate to the cause. Use this worksheet to prepare for making contact. Consider the person’s relationship to the cause. Why should they care? q They have MS q A friend or family member has MS q They provide services that people with MS may use q Theyareinvolvedincreatingpolicies,procedures,orlawsthataffectpeoplewithMS q They know someone with a disability or chronic illness and may relate to MS q Other What need is my advocacy effort seeking to meet? q Increased awareness and understanding of MS so people will feel more connected to the cause q Protecting the rights of people with MS or their access to treatment q Raising funds for programs that support people with MS q Improving community services for people with MS q Greater participation in research q Other How can I explain the challenges people with MS face that led to my advocacy effort? Do I need to modify this explanation to refer to the person’s relationship to the cause? If so, how? What do I specifically want to ask the person to do? What follow-up can I provide to keep the person involved?