One of the things that defines a TEDster is you've taken your passion, and you've turned it into stewardship. You actually put action to the issues you care about. But what you're going to find eventually is you may need to actually get elected officials to help you out. So, how do you do that?
有一件事 定义了TED的参与者 那就是你充满激情 并且你有条不紊地进行管理 你确实对你关心的问题付出很多 但你会发现 你需要选举委员会 让你的议题脱颖而出 那么你如何做到呢?
One of the things I should probably tell you is, I worked for the Discovery Channel early in my career, and that sort of warped my framework. So, when you start to think about politicians, you've got to realize these are strange creatures. Other than the fact that they can't tell directions, and they have very strange breeding habits, how do you actually work with these things? (Laughter) What we need to understand is: What drives the political creature? And there are two things that are primary in a politician's heart: One is reputation and influence. These are the primary tools by which a politician can do his job. The second one -- unlike most animals, which is survival of the species -- this is preservation of self. Now you may think it's money, but that's actually sort of a proxy to what I can do to preserve myself.
我可以告诉你一件事 我曾在探索发现频道工作过一段时间 那段经历扭转了我的思维框架 所以当你一想到政客 你必须意识到他们是奇怪的生物 而不仅仅是他们没有方向感 而且他们的觅食习性很奇怪 究竟你该如何和他们相处。 我们需要知道的是: 是什么驱动着政治的生物 在政客心中有两个基本的信条 第一条声望和影响 这些是最主要的工具 被政客用来做他的工作 第二条,不象其他动物, 大都是种群的幸存者 这是自我保护 也许你现在觉得金钱是关键 但那其实只是一个代理 诱惑我自己去做
Now, the challenge with you moving your issue forward is these animals are getting broadcast to all the time. So, what doesn't work, in terms of getting your issue to be important? You can send them an email. Well, unfortunately, I've got so many Viagra ads coming at me, your email is lost. It doesn't matter, it's spam. How about you get on the phone? Well, chances are I've got a droid who's picking up the phone, "Yes, they called, and they said they didn't like it." That doesn't move. Face to face would work, but it's hard to set it up. It's hard to get the context and actually get the communication to work. Yes, contributions actually do make a difference and they set a context for having a conversation, but it takes some time to build up.
现在,是向前推动这个问题的时候了 这些动物整天被报道 到底什么是没用的,而哪些方法又能使你的问题得到重视 你可以向他们发电子邮件 然而,非常不幸,我总是收到太多 伟哥广告 你的电子邮件丢失了 没关系,当作垃圾邮件 那么打电话行么 好吧,往往都是面对一个机器人说话 是的,他们回电话了,可他们说不喜欢这个想法 打电话行不通 面对面也许有用 但这实在太难安排了 往往很难得到有效的回应和沟通 是的,捐款的确可以得到回报 并且是很好的讨论话题, 但这仍需一些时日的积累。
So what actually works? And the answer is rather strange. It's a letter. We live in a digital world, but we're fairly analog creatures. Letters actually work. Even the top dog himself takes time every day to read 10 letters that are picked out by staff. I can tell you that every official that I've ever worked with will tell you about the letters they get and what they mean. So, how are you going to write your letter? First of all, you're going to pick up an analog device: a pen. I know these are tough, and you may have a hard time getting your hand bent around it, (Laughter) but this is actually critical. And it is critical that you actually handwrite your letter. It is so novel to see this, that somebody actually picked up an analog device and has written to me. Second of all, I'm going to recommend that you get into a proactive stance and write to your elected officials at least once a month. Here's my promise to you: If you are consistent and do this, within three months the elected official will start calling you when that issue comes up and say, "What do you think?"
那么到底什么最有效呢 答案也许相当匪夷所思 这就是写信 我们生活在一个数码时代 但我们依然是很模式化的生物 信件仍然很有用 即使我们总统本人 也会每天阅读十封信 由工作人员帮忙选出来 我可以告诉大家在我工作过的每一个行政机关 都会告诉你他们收到过的信 和他们的意义 所以你为什么不写封信呢 首先,你要找一个传统的设备──钢笔 我知道你会经历一段困难时期 去适应如何正确握笔 但这真的是非常重要的 最重要的是 你要亲笔写这封信 这简直太少见了 有人竟然拿起这个古老工具 写信给我 其次,我将给你们推荐 如何使用一种积极的姿态 每月至少给机关负责人写一封信 在这儿我向你保证 如果你坚持这么做 不到三个月相关单位会开始给你打电话 一旦有关问题发生的时候,会问你,“您是怎么看这个问题的”
Now, I'm going to give you a four paragraph format to work with. Now, when you approach these animals, you need to understand there's a dangerous end to them, and you also need to approach them with some level of respect and a little bit of wariness. So in paragraph number one, what I'm going to tell you to do is very simply this: You appreciate them. You may not appreciate the person, you may not appreciate anything else, but maybe you appreciate the fact that they've got a tough gig. When animals are going to make a point, they make the point. They don't spend a lot of time dicking around. So, here you go. (Laughter) Paragraph number two: You may actually have to just get very blunt and say what's really on your mind. When you do this, don't attack people; you attack tactics. Ad hominem attacks will get you nowhere. Paragraph number three: When animals are attacked or cornered, they will fight to the death, so you have to give them an exit. Most of the time, if they have an exit strategy, they should take it. "Obviously, you're intelligent. If you had the right information, you would have done the right thing." (Laughter) Lastly, you want to be the nurturing agent. You're the safe place to come in to. So, in paragraph number four, you're going to tell people, "If no one is providing you with this information, let me help." (Laughter)
现在,我将建议你采用以下格式写信 使用四段落结构 当你接近这些动物的时候 你需要知道接近他们的危险性 你又必须接近他们 带一定的尊敬和一点点的谨慎 所以在第一段 我给你的建议非常简单 奉承他们 你也许并不欣赏对方个人,你也不喜欢他们任何其他东西 但你可以恭维他们有一份苦差事 当动物想要得到什么,他们就去得到它 他们不会花时间来回徘徊 所以你的机会来了 第二段 实际上你可以单刀直入 表明你心中的立场 当你这么做的时候 不要攻击任何人 要对事不对人 人身攻击会让你失去回旋余地 第三段 当动物受到攻击或威胁时 他们会誓死反抗 所以你要给他们一个出口 大部分时间,如果他们发现了一条退路,他们会选择全身而退 显然你很高明 一旦你拥有正确的情报 你将做出正确的决定 然后你想成为培训专家 你成为了可以投靠的安全地带 所以在第四段 你将告诉人们 ”如果没人向你们提供这些信息,我来帮你“
Animals do displays. They do two things: They warn you or they try to attract you and say, "We need to mate." You're going to do that by the way you sign your letter. You do a number of things: you're a vice president, you volunteer, you do something else. Why is is this important? Because this establishes the two primary criteria for the political creature: that you have influence in a large sphere, and that my preservation depends on you.
动物很喜欢炫耀,他们只干两件事 警告你或者试图攻击你 然后说:“求合体” 你将通过签署这封信署名的时候告诉他们 你做过的一些项目,你是一个副主管 你是志愿者,你做过的一些其他事 为什么这很重要 因为这表明了两点 政治动物最主要的评判标准 那就是你有大的影响力 还有我的政绩要依靠你
Here is one very quick hack, especially for the feds in the audience. Here's how you mail your letter. First of all, you send the original to the district office. So, you send the copy to the main office. If they follow protocol, they'll pick up the phone and say, "Hey, do you have the original?" Then some droid in the back puts the name on a tickler and says, "Oh, this is an important letter." And you actually get into the folder that the elected official actually has to read.
这里有你个很有用的小技巧 特别对于台下TED的听众 你应该这样寄你的亲笔信 首先,你把原件寄到本地邮局 然后你再寄一份附件到邮政总局 如果你这么做,他们将打电话问:“你是否有原件?” 那样一些工作人员会在信贴上一些标签 写到”哦,这是封重要的信件“ 你的信就这样进入了正式的文件夹 然后有关领导必须仔细读这封信了
So, what your letter means: I've got to tell you, we are all in a party, and political officials are the pinatas. (Laughter) We are harangued, lectured to, sold, marketed, but a letter is actually one of the few times that we have honest communication. I got this letter when I was first elected, and I still carry it to every council meeting I go to. This is an opportunity at real dialogue, and if you have stewardship and want to communicate, that dialogue is incredibly powerful. So when you do that, here's what I can promise: You're going to be the 800 pound gorilla in the forest.
那么你的信意味着什么呢 我必须告诉你,我们都在一个派对中 而政客是彩罐 (观众笑声) 我们听他们长篇大论 被买卖,被推销 但是书信是少数几次 可以真诚交流的机会 我第一次被选为人大代表是时,我收到了这封信 我一直带着它 参加每一场咨询会 这是一次真实对话的机会 而如果你有这个台阶 并想要沟通 那这个对话将非常重要 所以一旦你这么去做了,我保证 你将会成为丛林中的大猩猩
Get writing.
拿起笔来。
(Applause)
(观众掌声)