Face-to-face meetings with your elected officials and their key staff are an extremely effective way to get to know them and to directly express your views on issues. Legislators are eager to meet with constituents, whether they are in the capitol or their state or district. Here are some tips for having an effective personal meeting with legislators:

Schedule your meeting in advance. Legislators' schedules tend to fill up quickly. Whether you write or call, identify yourself as a constituent and state the purpose of the meeting. It's advisable to call to confirm the appointment a few days before arriving.

Meeting Request Form Letter.doc

Don't just "drop by" expecting a meeting. While offices will try to accommodate constituents, you may end up pulling the legislator out of a committee hearing or interrupting another meeting. The staff will remember you, but not favorably.

Schedule a group meeting. Taking a few of your colleagues or volunteers with you when you visit your legislator demonstrates that other constituents share your concern about an issue. Numbers do count when trying to persuade a legislator of the importance of your views. In group meetings, coordinate in advance who will speak to specific points.

Be prepared. You will typically have 15-20 minutes to state your case and often your meeting will be interrupted. It is crucial that you are well prepared to express your views succinctly and clearly.

Dress professionally. Don't let appearances detract from your message or impair your credibility.

Take materials with you. Given limited time for your meeting, it is helpful to have brief fact sheets or other material that you can leave behind with the legislator and staff. If possible, attach your business card to any written material you leave with the legislator's office.

Be on time. Legislators are extremely busy and may be forced to skip your meeting if you are running late. If you know you are going to be late, call ahead to inform the legislator's office. They will try their best to accommodate you if you give them a little warning.

Be ready to meet with staff. Don't be disappointed if you meet with staff instead of your legislator - this may happen due to last minute changes. Key staff aides are often more familiar with specific policy issues than their busy bosses, and are in the best position to listen to your point of view and subsequently advise the legislator of your concerns at precisely the right moment. Meeting with key staff is just as important as meeting personally with legislators.

Identify yourself as a constituent. Mention the state, district, and city or county where you vote.

Identify yourself within the community. Inform your legislator if you are affiliated with a local group and whether you work with the legislator's constituents. Your message will have more weight if the legislator knows that you are involved as a community leader.

Start with a compliment. If possible, thank legislators for their support on a prior issue or for their participation in a community event. At a minimum, thank them for meeting with you.

Take the initiative. State briefly, clearly and concisely what issue you want to discuss, what your position is on it and what action you want the legislator to take. Be as specific as possible. When discussing a piece of legislation, identify it by bill number, subject matter, title and/or legislative author. Follow this with facts and personal anecdotes about why the legislator should take your position.

Focus on one or two issues. Since time is limited, don't try to cover too many issues in one meeting, even though they are important to you. Focus on a couple of main issues -- you can always leave behind fact sheets on other issues.

Be informative, be thorough, but be concise. Again, you won't have much time to present your case, so don't try to chronicle the history of a complex issue in 10 minutes. If the issue is complicated, say so, and leave behind or offer to provide materials that explain the problem more completely.

Tell personal stories. Personalize the issue - explain how it affects real people. It is not always clear to legislators how their votes on bills affect their constituents. If you illustrate how individuals are personally affected, the legislator may realize the impact the bill in question could have on their constituents.

Don't argue over policy issues. Present your case in a straightforward and forceful manner. If the legislator disagrees with your position., agree to disagree for the moment and move on to your next topic. You can always follow up with a letter explaining your views in further detail.

Mention other supporters. Judiciously inform the legislator about other organizations, important individuals, government officials and legislators who support your position. If you are working with a coalition, mention other coalition members. This will demonstrate broad-based support for your issue.

Be a good listener. After you deliver your message, allow the legislator to respond. However, bring the conversation back to the issue at hand if the legislator goes off on a tangent or tries to evade it. Answer any questions to the best of your ability, but if you don't know the answer, admit it. Provide the information promptly in a follow-up letter.

Have a clear "ask." Ask legislators to take a specific action. Press politely for a commitment, unless they are obviously opposed to your position or to making a commitment.

Volunteer to be a resource contact. Legislators and their staff will always welcome a constituent who is knowledgeable on specific issues and is willing to be a local contact who can give them advice on short notice. For example, legislators often set up healthcare advisory panels consisting of local healthcare providers, healthcare consumers and others to provide them with a local view on major health policy initiatives. By volunteering to serve on these panels you will be in a good position to provide input.

Invite the legislator to visit your organization. Legislators will welcome the opportunity to participate in community events, especially where they may visit with their constituents. Try to get press coverage of the elected official's involvement.

Always follow up with a thank you. When you return home, send the legislator a brief "thank-you" note for meeting with you. Briefly restate your concern and requested action. If you met with staff, send them a thank you note as well and send a separate letter to the legislator informing them of the meeting you had with their staff, the issues you discussed and your views on them.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
Office of Public Policy