Meeting Your Official

2017 Legislative Hits and Misses
May 15, 2017
Improving Access to Capital
June 2, 2017
2017 Legislative Hits and Misses
May 15, 2017
Improving Access to Capital
June 2, 2017

Meeting Your Official

Meeting face-to-face with elected officials or their staff is the most effective way to influence public policy. It will often take many visits, emails, phone calls, and other contacts to influence a position on a piece of legislation. Far too many people in politics today are confrontational, inconsiderate, and entitled, so politeness, consideration, and gratitude can go a long way toward wielding influence. The tips below can help guide you toward a successful visit.

  • Make an appointment. Don’t just show up.
  • Give staff your contact information. In Columbia or Washington, schedules change fast. Meetings are commonly moved or delayed.
  • Bring several people with you. Coalitions do better than singles.
  • Check an official’s website and Google for their positions before the meeting.
  • Check your legislator’s voting record at scstatehouse.gov.
  • Plan your responses about favorable or unfavorable votes. Be polite and don’t comment off-the-cuff.
  • Be on time. Legislators have a lot of demands on their time. If you’re late, you may not get another meeting.
  • Stay on topic. Don’t use jargon or acronyms. Speak about one issue at a time.
  • You don’t need to be an expert, you’re their constituent.
  • Thank them for their service—no matter what you think of their record.
  • Find common ground (through your research) where you can start the discussion.
  • Don’t react negatively if you don’t like something that is said.
  • Ask the legislator for their position and listen carefully.
  • Be patient and don’t interrupt.
  • Stay passionate, but respectful, about your issue.
  • Always remain polite and respectful.
  • Make as specific a request as you can. “Please vote for H. XXXX” or “Please introduce legislation that will XXXXX.”
  • Give them real, concrete examples, tailored as closely as you can to your local community, of why a bill should be supported, defeated, or introduced.
  • Thank them again for their service and for taking your meeting.
  • Tell them you appreciate them “fitting you in” to their schedule.
  • Thank the staff. They’re the ones who can get you in again, or “forget” to pass along a message.
  • If a legislator asked for more information, get that information and send it along ASAP.
  • Send a hand-written note thanking them for the meeting. This is the South, after all.

One final note: if a legislator asks you something you don’t know, simply say “I don’t know, but I will get you that answer.” Then, get him or her the answer ASAP.