Tips for a Virtual Meeting with a Legislator
By Annie Cumberland, Volunteer Ambassador
When I was invited to join a virtual meeting with a legislator in my state, I jumped at the excitement of advocating for the wild horses in a face-to-face (virtual) meeting. This burst of excitement was followed quickly by panic that I had no idea what I was supposed to do. As I had never done anything like this before, my mind started to race with possible scenarios highlighting how unprepared I was for this task, including the idea that the legislator would grill me about the entire wild horse “situation” that I would most likely pass out from nerves. Fortunately, very soon after I agreed to participate, a follow-up email revealed that I would be supported through the whole process by the terrific AWHC staff. Phew!
Before the Meeting: AWHC emailed me a list of current talking points. I was instructed to prepare a very short remark, roughly 2-3 minutes, about why protecting wild horses was important to me and weave in the talking points/data. I selected three facts around the financial aspects of this crisis that really spoke to why I felt we needed to shift our wild horse management practices through legislative support. It was important to include facts, not just base my remarks on feelings. I used two note cards to write down my ideas in case I felt overwhelmed and so I could make sure I shared the statistics correctly. Because the issues are so close to my heart, writing down my thoughts with data to back me was not difficult.
During the Meeting: AWHC staff facilitated the session and handled all of the heavy lifting when specific questions popped up. My role was simply to represent myself as a constituent and express to the house representative why I believed we needed his support. I propped my index cards on my laptop so no one could see them, delivered my message and expressed gratitude for making time to meet with us.
As the meeting unfolded, I saw first hand why it was important that our remarks come from the heart, but remain factual. The meeting was only 20 minutes, so I saw the value of coming to the table with specific information but also not to sound like a statistics robot. Legislators have many people bidding for their time and while we are constituents who have the right to be heard, we need to make that time count. The horses & ecosystems are depending on us.
After the Meeting: Big sigh of relief and happiness! And maybe a little pride for stretching my ambassador wings to try something new. The whole process was very simple. It was so interesting to see another side of legislation, how change can happen, and to see a tiny sliver of what the AWHC does behind the scenes. I am happy to report that none of my nerve-wrecking scenarios came to fruition and I didn’t even come close to passing out!
My advice to you: If you are invited to a meeting with a legislator and are feeling a little nervous, do it anyway. I guarantee AWHC will be there every step of the way. It is a great opportunity to grow as an advocate and share your unique voice in the fight for our wild ones.