It is easy to get confused about what to say when faced with a politician.  The meeting may have taken an age to set-up and is an important 30 minutes.  But if not properly prepared for then the opportunity will be wasted.

There can, of course, be different types of interaction with a relevant politician. It may be a formal meeting but could just as easily be at a networking event or party conference fringe.  So what should your approach be?

It is importance think in terms of a ‘political narrative’ that encapsulates your approach. This is more than just the key messages of the campaign or issue.  It has to say something about you and your organisation as well.  In essence, your narrative needs to convey your reputation as well as your issue.

It is easier to communicate this narrative if the relationship is an existing one or you have worked on your political profile in advance.  Essentially, if they have heard of you in a positive way then that can kick-start the discussion.  If you are starting from a position of low knowledge or a poor reputation then your narrative needs to establish some initial common ground.  This can take-up valuable time.

It might easier to think in terms of having an ‘elevator pitch’ prepared for the chance encounter with a politician.  Certainly anyone in your organisation likely to come into contact with a political audience should be briefed on the agreed wording.

Basically, have something ready in advance so no-one gets caught out or misses a potentially value opportunity to engage because they don’t know what to say.

When it comes to having a little more time for a discussion then preparation is key.  Think about how to use the time you have wisely and assume you will only have around 30-40 minutes for a meeting.  That means having a rough timetable and agenda in your head so that you don’t get side-tracked.  There is nothing worse than having had the meeting but not having covered your main issue.

The approach needs to consider:

Short intro – having a short introduction to you, your organisation and your issue.  This needs to be pithy and concise.  No-one is interested in hearing the very interesting biography of a senior executive for instance…  The intro to the issue also needs to be designed to elicit questions from the politician.  You need to grab their interest and allow a space for discussion.

Have an aim in mind – consider the meeting in terms of what your overall strategy is.  Each element of engagement needs to fit together.  For instance, getting each person to do the same thing would rarely be right unless the aim was some form of collective action (an event, signing at EDM etc.).  But you can only work that out if you consider the strategy as a whole and see where all the pieces fit together.

Not just about what you want to say but what they may ask – always be prepared for the questions that will come your way.  There is one very easy way to lose potential support and that is to seem to be talking at someone rather than listening to them.  Especially when it comes to any political audience…

Avoid the jargon – a standing item for any engagement needs to be avoid all the usual terminology that no-one else understands.  Eyes glaze over and interest wanders…

Give them something to do – there should always be action points from any meeting and political engagement is no different.  A general briefing on an issue may be fine but what you should really be aiming for is some action on their part.  But why not make the suggestions about activity?  Many will ask what you want them to do so be prepared for that.

All of this really comes down to careful preparation and taking the steps needed not to get caught out. Dealing with politicians need not be a scary experience!

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