Preparing for a Meeting
“Understand who you are talking to”
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Once you receive confirmation that a meeting has been scheduled, ask if you will be talking to the representative or their staff. Most often, you will meet with a staffer.
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Each state is different, and during a non-legislative session the legislator might have one staffer that works with multiple offices.
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A state like California has a year around legislature and will have staff available in both the state capitol and in a district office.
“Know your issue”
You should aim to explain the core issue in under 3 minutes. Most staff cover a variety of issues, so keeping your explanation of an issue brief and as simple as possible will make it easier for them to understand and remember. Most are also not trained in genetics, but many are interested to learn. Be sure to stay on topic. Overall, you should plan for a 15-minute meeting, so it is recommended that you prepare ahead of time by identifying the key points that you want to cover. It may be helpful to research the representative ahead of time so that you are aware of the issues they care about, their voting record, etc. This can help you frame the issue in a way that they will be receptive.
“Have a specific ask”
When meeting with a legislative office, you should always have a clear “ask”. This could be something such as:
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Will you support/oppose X bill?
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Would you be willing to develop legislation to address this issue?
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Can you speak on this issue during the upcoming hearing? (This would only be appropriate if the representative is on the committee that is going to be holding the hearing.)
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Representatives and their staff receive a lot of requests from constituents. Be prepared to explain why your ask is important in the universe of all asks made to the office.