Some tips to help with your meeting with your congressman in his Washington office or home office:
1. Remember the Secretary's name -
it's
important! Exchange some
pleasantries about
weather, the
latest news item, or whatever. Be
sure to mention how pleased you are that
he/she was
able to fit you into the Representative's busy schedule.
2. Get rid you're your coat, if you
are
wearing one, in the outer office.
3. If you are offered coffee,
accept
it. If not, ask for coffee or
water and then take the cup
into the
Member's office. Drink it slowly
and accept a refill.
(this simple
inside technique will give the Member of Congress another 15 minutes to
find out what
nice and well informed people you are and how will not likely call in
the
next set of
visitors until your coffee is through.
If no refill is offered once in the
Member's
office, you may politely ask for one.
Remember, you are getting additional
Time for
your consumption.)
4. Do not be the least bit bashful
or
intimidated by the surroundings.
The Legislator is
there to
serve you - that is his or her job.
He/she works for you!
5. Identify a spokesperson in
advance and
allow that person to make the presentation.
The others
in the group will reinforce the points of the spokesperson. If visiting
Several
offices, you may alternate acting as a spokesperson.
Don't boast or exaggerate.
6. Stick to the two or three points
you
wish to stress. If possible, be
prepared with
position
papers, which explain your main points in detail. If
copies were mailed in
advance, you
should still take copies with you that you can refer to and leave. They
all get a
lot of mail and often circulate such documents among the staff so they
may not
be
immediately accessible at the time of your meeting.
7. Before you ask him about his
views, be
sure he understands yours. This
will give the
legislator
the opportunity to agree with you.
8. Concentrate on what is being
said - it
will often differ from what you would like to
hear. Be a good listener. Do not interrupt. After
a reasonable amount of time on
one
point, move
on to the next one whether you reach an agreement or not.
9. Control your emotions. Do not express anger at the Legislator,
at another member
of
Congress, or at the President of the United States (You do not know who
is your
Representative's best friend).
10. Take your notes outside the
office after the meeting. Your Legislator
will be more
candid
if you are not jutting down every word said. No
tape recorders.
11. Do not take too much time - 45
minutes should be the
maximum. If you are well
organized and working as a team, you may get everything said in
20
minutes, but
30
minutes is probably the average time needed.
12. Your Legislator will usually
agree to having a picture taken
with the group if you
have a
camera with you, but do not take too long getting organized. You may want
to use
such a picture for your chapter newspaper.
13. Depart on a pleasant not in
spite of what was or was not
agreed to.
14. After you get outside the
office, have someone in the group
reconstruct the
pertinent parts of the meeting in writing.
15. After you get home, write a
thank you note to the Member of
Congress for his time
and
commitments for help. Mention how
nice his secretary or assistant was (People
like
to be thanked and this leaves a good impression if you ever want to
visit
again)
16. Report your meeting to your
chapter officers and/or
Legislative Chairman. Write
a brief
article for the chapter paper if so requested.