What you MUST leave behind in a political meeting
Aim to make your meeting with an MP or Minister a positive and memorable experience. Spend less time on lengthy documents and more time on how you will create a unique impression.
By Neil Pharaoh
So you have lined up the meeting, the attendees are all in order, and you are on your way to Canberra (or Spring Street, or Macquarie Street, or virtually these days) for a meeting with an MP or Minister. What next? And what about the documents to talk to and leave behind? This article steps through some thoughts, ideas and insights around creating a positive impression, and what not to do.
Let’s start with what not to do…
Don’t give them your annual report, or even an extensive, detailed brochure - it will never get read. While it may float around the office for a day or two, it is ultimately a waste of space and environmental resources.
Generally speaking, do not bring along anything you have “prepared earlier”. Chances are it is designed for a difference audience and not an MP, Senator or Minister. So, all those detailed policy documents? Leave them behind. The extensive organisational history? That stays home too. If these are wanted, you can always follow up by sending them through later.
Don’t take reams of paperwork either. Keep things simple, relevant, and easy to access during a conversation.
So, what should you bring to a meeting?
A nice sharp one or two pages about the organisation, which provides high-level answers to the questions of who you are, what you are about, why you exist, where you operate, and how you do your work. Great organisations will answer each of these questions, compile their impact and outcomes into an infographic, and include a nice case study - all in two pages.
It’s important to make it visually appealing and genuinely specific to the person you are meeting. That could mean aligning data, statistics, case studies, or projects to their portfolio, electorate, committee involvement, or interests. Making it specific means that your one pager is unique and considers the framing and view points of the party you are meeting, as well as how it might align to their priorities or agenda. Feel free to use bold, italics and underline, and even stretch the margins if you have to; but do not make it more than two pages - ever.
If you have a very specific project that you want funded, supported, or engaged with, you can do a second two pager which answers the same questions but is specific to that project. But no more than that.
A couple of other things you might like to consider for your meeting:
Bring business cards, they are still used and are a nice thing to exchange.
A suitable branded promotional item (if you have one) is also often appreciated - but not tacky or useless generic stuff. It genuinely has to represent your organisation. For instance, kudos to Surf Life Saving Australia who give MPs in their friendship group a framed lifesaver cap.
Remember to take photos, and ask the MP or Minister’s Advisor to follow your social media afterwards.
Take note of the names and roles of the people you meet, and build rapport with staffers and support team, as it will be them who you will often work with for additional information and insights down the track.
One final reflection, which follows working with a client last week who secured over 50 meetings (i.e. one quarter of Federal Parliament) in one sitting period: Remember that MPs, Ministers and Senators are in back-to-back (and often boring) meetings, where everyone is asking, complaining, or berating them for something. Make your 30 minutes or hour unique and memorable in some way. I might go as far to say that you should spend more time thinking about how to make it unique, memorable and positive, than you should on the documentation.
This article first appeared at Pro Bono Australia as part of Tanck's fortnightly column, Happenings on the Hill.
Tanck offers advisory services in government relations, stakeholder strategy, and communications.
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