NR 506 Challenges in Lobbying Strategies Discussion

As far as meeting with local legislators or policymakers, I am sure that the best approach would be trying to find a time to meet face to face with them. However, due to the current circumstances, I think a telephone call or e-mail may work best. Illinois State Representative, Norine Hammond, is running for re-election this year and the Primary election starts on Tuesday. I feel that she has much more important things to do for her own success than to take time to meet with me. Of course, I have never met her, so she could be willing to take the time to sit down and talk, but I will understand if she would rather not due to the timing. Timing could also be a factor as I am due to have another baby at any time in the next 2 ½ weeks. I would hate to schedule a time to meet with her and then have to back out due to being in the hospital or trying to recover at home. As I mentioned, if she would meet with me, I would make sure she was aware of my circumstances in case I had to cancel at the last minute.

I think e-mail is less personal of course, but I also think it is much easier for people who have a busy schedule, because it then allows them to respond at their convenience. With the Primary election beginning this week, Ms. Hammond will definitely be busy. However, it is said that someone would need to ask six people in person to have the same power of an email with 200 recipients (Bohns, 2017). For that reason, I would prefer a phone call conversation over an email conversation. I also think that conversations over email or text can easily be misinterpreted and I think there is great significance in immediate responses as well as changes in voice. I know for me personally, it is much easier to say “no” in an email than it is on the phone or in person. It is also easier for me to argue my case in person rather than in text form.

Because Ms. Hammond will be helping me out with my class, I will be appreciative of whatever she has to offer.

Reference:

Bohns, V. (2017). A face-to-face request is 34 times more successful than an email. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from: https://hbr.org/2017/04/a-face-to-face-request-is-34-times-more-successful-than-an-email

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Because Ms. Hammond will be helping me out with my class, I will be appreciative of whatever she has to offer.

Reference:

Because Ms. Hammond will be helping me out with my class, I will be appreciative of whatever she has to offer.

Reference:

I would agree with you that it is the best to speak with a policy maker that has a vested interest in your policy topic. I also like the fact that you have a smart approach to understanding the policy maker, being able to have a personal connection with them as well. Not only do you have the advantage of a more personal connection, but a way of speaking to the policy maker face to face. I think that being able to speak face to fact is very important and makes a greater impression than any other way when it comes to presenting your policy priority and hopefully making a change for the better. It is hard to express your enthusiasm or passion for your policy priority with the other forms of communication. But in any form of communication you must be well prepared to present your policy and have the information to back up your plan. We all have things we would like to change, especially in healthcare, but to make those changes we have to put the work and time in to make those changes and show those in charge that we did devote the time so they understand the importance of the issue.

I can totally see where this could be an issue with sending information before your schedule meeting. I know most of our policy makers are pressed for time. By sending to much information before the scheduled meeting, they might not want to follow through with a meeting. I was planning on sending at least a synopsis of what I planned on discussing with my policy maker. I was hoping that by sending some information before the meeting, he would have time to research the topic some for himself. I thought this way he would be able to form some questions and concerns about the policy being presented. From hearing my husband and his coworkers, I know any change to the school system is something that is not taken lightly. I thought by at least letting Mr. Gray develop his own opinion and questions coming into the meeting, we would be able to have a more productive conversation.

I definitely agree with you that e-mail allows for quick conversations with people. Ninety-five percent of Americans have cell phones, with 77% of those people owning a smart phone (Pew Research Center, 2018). Email and text can almost be instant anymore, not to mention, if someone does not have a smart phone, they likely use a computer for work especially at the Senator’s office. When I am at work, my email comes directly to my desktop, which allows me to be reached almost immediately if I am in the office. My cell phone is almost always in my possession, so I can be reached by email there as well. If your senator has a scheduler, I would hope that she would have quick access to the schedule and would respond to you quickly.

I definitely understand why you may be skeptical to use the “contact the senator” link as there is no true way to follow up and as you mentioned, you do not know where the message will go.

I think emailing the Illinois State Senator first would be my best option as well. That allows them to be prepared for the meeting request instead of a phone call that could catch them off guard.

One thing I did find interesting though, was an article published in Harvard Business Review stated that a” face-to-face request is 34 times more successful than an e-mail” Bohns, 2017). That is pretty amazing to me. I do think that I can argue my point much stronger in person than over an email, and email can often be misinterpreted due to the lack of nonverbal language.

Good luck with your email. I hope you get good feedback.

References:

Pew Research Center. (2018). Mobile Fact Sheet. Retrieved from: http://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheet/mobile/ (Links to an external site.)

Communication is at the touch of a finger or even as quick as a whisper across a room. In this day and age, we as a society are more connected online than we have ever been. Therefore as mentioned before in this thread, e-mailing would be the best course of action first since this action happens as soon as one taps the keys on their laptop or smart item. These actions create a faster way of communicating between the student and the legislator. “Getting to know your patients and your colleagues is so important. That way, you can pick up on the things that are different about them today: their mannerisms and their actions.” (Price-Dowd, 2018) This is an invaluable form of communication.

E-mailing is very invaluable to communicate, especially if the student cannot speak on the phone or even talk in person at that initial phase. Yet, “meeting with your legislators face-to-face is the most effective way to get your message across.” (Cordory, 2015)

Reference

Cordory, J. (2015, August 12). Legislative Advocacy Tips. Retrieved March 26, 2018, from

http://www.tcdd.texas.gov/public-policy/legislative-advocacy-tips/

Price-Dowd, C. (2018). Communication is a two-way street. British Journal Of Nursing, 27(3) 171. doi:10.12968/bjon.2018.27.3.171

Some characteristics of effective communication are: timely, brief, clear, and complete (Evidenced-based, 2017). An evidenced-based communication strategy I would utilize to share my policy-priority issue is SBAR communication. SBAR stands for situation, background, assessment, and recommendation (Evidence-based, 2017). The situation for my policy-priority issue is childhood obesity. The background information includes statistics and information concerning the issue such as the percentage of children that are considered overweight or obese in the United States. I would present this information to my policy-provider to form a picture of the current issue. The assessment is what I believe the problem is that may be the cause of childhood obesity. This would include information such as statistics concerning recess before lunch, compared to after lunch, activity time during recess, school lunches, and lack of education. Lastly, the final step to the process is a recommendation to the policy-provider. In my example, my recommendation would be to have recess before lunch.

Evidenced-based. (2017). Retrieved from https://www.aaopt.org (Links to an external site.)

I think emailing the legislature is a good idea. However I think placing a phone call will be more beneficial. As you mentioned in your post, you would for the name of the scheduler and/or environmental assistant. I think this is also the opportunity to request a meeting with the legislature via phone. A phone call seems more personal and urgent. When placing a phone call it is important to get straight to the point after pleasantries and introductions are out of the way. Be prepared to ask questions and answer some as well. If asked a question that you are unable to provide an answer, it is important to offer a follow-up to the question and also to actually follow-up via email. Even if your new policy was not accepted by or all parties did not agree, simply and professionally than the legislature for their time. The verbal communication should also be followed up with an email of thanks for their time..

National Council for Workforce Education. (2018). Communicating with Policy Makers. Retrieved from National Council for Workforce Education:Premier organization, leading and engaging professionals, transforming the future: http://www.ncwe.org/?page=communicate_policy (Links to an external site.)

NR 506 Challenges in Lobbying Strategies Discussion