28 Planning your communication in advance will not only help you be ready to reach hearts, but also help you feel prepared and confident when you speak to people about your advocacy efforts. Don’t hesitate to share your personal experiences with the issues that you raise. Remember that knowing someone affected by MS is a motivator. By sharing your story, the person you’re addressing will begin to feel that they do know someone with MS – you. Cordial follow-up communication also helps that person feel more connected. Even after your goal is accomplished and the person has been thanked, don’t forget about them. Sometimes people don’t keep in contact for fear that if they ask for help with another effort, they will be seen as taking advantage. But if you’ve helped the person come to care about the MS cause, that caring will motivate them to want to get more involved. Give them the option. Be willing to take “no” for an answer, but they may surprise you with an enthusiastic “yes”! Getting Results At MS Focus, we know that results are important to the people who support our work. In 2016, we implemented a system to evaluate the outcomes for people who use our services. Our goal was not just to show how many people we served, but determine the quality of those services and what effect they had on the people served. The results? Here are four of our key metrics for the first year. percentage of service recipients who said their quality of life was improved by the service. percentage of service recipients who said the MS Focus staff was helpful throughout the process. percentage of educational program attendeeswho said theirknowledge was increased by the presentation percentage of educational program attendees said the MS Focus staff was helpful and informative. 99% 99% 100% 100%