political advocacy - the tools needed to be effective citizen advocates

POLITICAL ADVOCACYTHE TOOLS NEEDED TO BE EFFECTIVE CITIZEN

ADVOCATESMAY 14, 2013

William KreisbergSchrayer & Associates, Inc.

2013 FAMILY MEDICINE CONGRESSIONAL CONFERENCE

Agenda Political Landscape Breaking Through the Noise

Tips for Influencing Legislators Do’s and Don’ts

Telling Your Story Elevator Speech Role Play

Capitol Hill Day Logistics

THE POLITICAL LANDSCAPE

The 113th Congress

The External Challenges

The External Challenges

The Political Challenges

The Internal Challenges

The Results

Public View of Congress

BREAKING THROUGHTHE NOISE

Reaching A Member of Congress Can Be Challenging

Thousands of emails and letters per week

Frequent use of Twitter and Facebook

Hundreds of calls per day Dozens of meetings per day Scores of constituent visits

Tools of Engagement

Lobbying

Communications

CitizenAdvocacy

BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS:MEMBERS OF CONGRESS &

STAFF

Get to Know the TeamIn District Attend Town Hall Meetings Participate in On-Line

Meetings Write Letters to the Editor Meet Member and Staff in

District Office

In Washington Meet Member and Staff Bring Stakeholders (other

physicians, patients, families) Follow Up

Build the Relationship

Be A Resource Regular communications Send articles/material Contact by email/phone

(not mail) Keep communications

simple

Use Social and Traditional Media

Follow Members on Twitter/Facebook/ YouTube

Communicate to Media on Twitter

Write LTE/Op-Ed

“One of our office’s top priorities is maintaining a high quality of dialogue with the people we represent.” – Senate Office Mngr.

Social Media – An Essential ToolFollow Members All Senators and 90% of

House members have Twitter accounts; nearly all have Facebook pages

Follow members to keep up with their positions

Communicate with them through social media

Tell Your Story Use your own Facebook and

Twitter accounts to share facts and anecdotes about your practice

Build your Twitter list of followers by following your members of Congress – they in turn will follow you

MEETINGS DO’S & DON'TS

Prepare Know Your Member

Politics Committees Track Record

Know Your Ask Review Issues Know your Talking Points Have Material Ready (Leave-Behinds)

Be Prepared for “Chaos” Young Staff Limited Time – Long Lines

The MeetingDo’s: Thank Member Stay on Message Listen Make the Ask Follow Up

Don’ts Don’t Be Late Don’t Argue Don’t Have to Be Expert Don’t Ask for More Than

2-3 Items

After the MeetingMaintain the Relationship

Respond to requests for additional material Continue to be a resource Follow members on social media Periodically seek in-district meetings or attend

town halls Respond to Action Alerts

Make Your Voices Heard!

TELL YOUR STORY

The Elevator Speech

Be prepared for one minute message

Think about a memorable “sound bite”

Come with one anecdote, not just statistics

Going Up? Let’s Ride an Elevator

Share the importance of your practice and why family physicians are so vital to your community

Be succinct Include a memorable

anecdote

Enjoy the ride!

Role Playing

Putting it all together...

Lets Review… What tactics worked? Did they make the ask? What was the Member’s reaction? Did they follow the do’s and don’ts? What would you do differently?

Ready for your Meetings?

Time to practice at your tables

Getting Around Capitol Hill

Cafeteria

Cafeteria

Cafeteria

Cafeteria

Cafeteria

Cafeteria

Logistics for Capitol Hill Day Transportation

Take Metro or taxi (Metro cards provided) Avoid taking luggage to the Hill Leave extra time for long security lines Use building tunnels, if possible

LunchCafeterias in the House and Senate Office

Buildings

Questions?

EFFECTIVE POLITICAL ADVOCACY

“Politics should be the part-time job of every citizen.”

- Dwight D. Eisenhower -