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How To Ask So Congress Will Listen

The five-minute rule: Keep your message to five minutes, whether it’s a five-minute presentation in a meeting, or five-minutes worth of text that a Congressional staff person must read. Chances are you’ll only have five minutes to make your point. Be prepared to do so!

The importance of personal messages: Remember that you are important to your elected officials because you are a constituent, not because you’re part of a nationwide network or involved in the campaign. Your message should be focused on a personal level – why you find fulfillment in what you do and the real people you help. Do not spend time reciting everything you know about national trends or statistics. Statistics are useful, but only if they relate directly to what you or your program is doing in the community.

Method of Communication: Think about how you are most comfortable communicating, and what works best with your message. If it's a quick, "please vote yes on H.R. xyz" message, a phone call is probably appropriate. Longer messages about the value of particular legislation lend themselves better to letters / e-mails or meetings.

Overall, though, how you communicate, whether by e-mail, letter, or phone call, is less important than what you say. One well argued, thoughtful communication is worth 1,000 "Form letters". So be sure to work more on the CONTENT of your message, as opposed to the delivery mechanism.

Think about WHO should ask, based on what you know about the audience: There may be someone involved in your issue that has a good relationship with a member of Congress or their staff. Or, there may be someone who is just generally better suited to deliver your message, for example a business person may be well-suited to speak to a more conservative member, while an activist would be better suited to a more liberal member.

Knowing your facts: Being absolutely sure of any facts you relay is vital. Members of Congress and their staff rely on the expertise of others to help them understand the ramifications or benefits of particular policy proposals. Of course, it is always OK to be unsure of the implications. Members of Congress and their staff may even be able to help you with additional research materials, such as Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports.

Being specific: The only surefire way to get someone in a Congressional office to think about you and your program for longer than five minutes is to ask them to do something specific. Meetings, phone calls, or letters that provide “updates” will be much more effective if you ask the office to become involved in some way.

Know when to change course: There’s being specific and then there’s being stubborn. If you find that your request to have the Senator or Representative make time for a meeting is hitting a brick wall, change course and ask for something else – a statement in the Congressional Record or an article in your newsletter. You may just find that getting the office involved on a smaller level yields more interest and engagement in the future.

Don't Forget the Staff: A Congress person's staff is his or her lifeline to the world. They are generally very young (average age for a House staffer being mid-20's), very energetic, and very smart. Try to work with the staff as much as you can. They will likely have more time than the member to learn about you and your issues.

You are the expert: In many cases, you may find that you know more about the topic at hand than the Congressional staff. This is because Congressional staff tend to be generalists. They handle a wide-range of complex subjects, from Transportation to the Environment to Foreign Affairs, and generally can't be experts in everything. That's where you come in. If they like and trust you, they will rely on your advice and knowledge.

Being patient: It takes sales people an average of 13 tries with a prospect before making a sale, and congressional offices offer a similar challenge. So be both patient and persistent.

Following Up: The sad truth is that many Congressional offices will ignore your first request for a specific action. Frankly, they have so many people asking for so many things that they want to know that you're serious about your request before spending precious staff resources. The way to demonstrate that you are serious is to ask again. By asking again, you demonstrate that you really are serious, and you'll keep asking until you get an answer!