GOVERNMENT RELATIONS

The Executive's Guide to Giving Legislative Testimony

March 2001

Donald J. Pfundstein*
for New Hampshire Business Review

This guide is for the CEO or senior manager who understands the vital role shaping government's experience with her company plays in its ultimate success. She understands the convergence of the three branches of government and is ever mindful of the context in which a legislator or regulator hears what she is saying. She knows that if not satisfied, her customers may ask government to intervene to resolve the complaint. In other words, this guide is intended for the reader who is well beyond the important principles outlined in "The Tech Executive's Introduction to Government."

Setting the Stage

The Legislature is considering a bill proposed by a state agency, which regulates a substantial stream of your revenue. Your external affairs department has been working on the measure for over a year. Your senior management has had several visits with the regulators who are proposing the legislation. Your board of directors is now personally involved in the company's effort to derail or limit the reach of the proposed legislation. In short, you are now focused.

You have just received notice that a committee hearing will be held on the legislation next week. Your assistant has rearranged your travel plans and he has placed a large packet of materials on your desk. By their appearance you can tell they have come upstairs from external affairs. On top of the materials is a well written, comprehensive explanation of why the unintended consequences which will be imposed on the consumer as a result of this legislation substantially outweigh any achievable benefit for the public. Quite frankly, your staff has done a nice job of putting your written testimony together.

The morning of the hearing, you skim the backup material and read through your testimony three times. Your chief government affairs representative drives you to the statehouse in Concord. You are introduced by her to the legislative leadership and key committee members who will be shortly hearing the bill in which you are so interested. Let's take a look at some very basic rules that even the most sophisticated business people routinely violate when they find themselves in front of a legislative committee.

Avoid the "Cone of Silence" Effect

Please don't read your written remarks no matter how good you think they are. For those of you who are too young to remember Agent Maxwell Smart's "cone of silence," it was a device which enabled Smart to talk to his boss without the evil world listening in. A clear glass cone would descend from the conference room ceiling and physically isolate Agent Smart and his boss so that they could engage in conversation without the intrusion of listening devices. Reading your testimony in a legislative hearing will guarantee to put you in a cone of silence. No one will hear what you have to say!

The unfortunate habit of reading testimony is often due to the "silo of fear" style of managing large organizations. Many regional managers including state-based CEOs are fearful of getting off of the typed, home office-approved, corporate position. You might as well stay in your office. You may actually do more damage than good by sticking to the printed text.

Written testimony, when used properly, can be very effective. However, it is to be read at a later date by the committee member, not read to her during the legislative hearing. The written testimony should also be provided to the regulators involved in the debate, other interested parties and the media.

You Need to Be Flexible

The next rule actually flows from the principle of not reading your testimony. The legislative hearing is a fluid process. If you read testimony that was necessarily prepared prior to your arrival in the committee room, you lose out on enormous opportunities presented by other testimony, questioning by the committee members of the witnesses who preceded you, and the day's events as they unfold in the lives of the committee members. With the assistance of your external affairs department, you should have anticipated the type of testimony given by the various parties involved and the general nature of the questions that would be asked of them by the committee. Having your staff prepare you for this exercise will be wasted unless you present your arguments in a manner that gives you the opportunity to take advantage of this important preparation.

Be Prepared to Make Your ASK Right up Front

We all have precious little time to process the volume of information we are bombarded with each day. This is particularly true of legislative committee members who have numerous competing demands on their time. You must be prepared to succinctly state what it is that you want to say and ask the committee right up front what it is you would like them to do.

Five Minutes is a Long Time

Five minutes is often a very long time to present your position to a committee. However, you must speak slowly and engage the committee members to the greatest extent possible. Don't focus simply on one member of the committee, but move around the table, making eye contact with as many of the committee members as possible.

Define the Opposition

Legislative committee hearings give you an opportunity to define the interests which are adverse to your position. You want the opposition to consume its time in front of the committee recharacterizing how you have defined the issue. One effective way of doing this is to simply know what the opposition's best argument is, state it in a fair but neutralized way, and then quickly explain why the argument is not persuasive.

Close on a High Point with a Restatement of the ASK

Many otherwise good speakers have a tendency to conclude their remarks on a minor detail that detracts from the overall message. Conclude your testimony on a high point. What is your most telling argument? Restate it succinctly and repeat what it is that you would like the committee to do. I often think of this rule as the "drill." The drill is simply (1) tell them what you want, (2) why they should do it, (3) what opponents will say and why that is not persuasive, (4) tell them again what you want and why and (5) thank them for their time. Be able to do it in 30 - 60 seconds, because you can use the "drill" in the hallway as well.

Be Respectful

Don't leave during or immediately after the hearing. Be respectful. Many senior managers, mindful of their own busy schedules, fail to appreciate the impact their premature departure from the hearing room has on the committee members. Their schedules are very hectic as well. If your time with them is so limited that you cannot participate in the balance of the hearing once your testimony is complete, it is absolutely necessary that you follow up in some fashion to convey your respect for the process and their role in it. In my view, leaving this follow-up solely to external affairs is a mistake.

Your Mission is not Complete when you Leave the Room

Although your government affairs staff will be following up with the committee, don't lose sight of the targets of opportunity which you will have. You can follow up with any of the committee members to provide them with additional detail or general information on the subject matter of the bill. Set aside 15 or 20 minutes and send an email to those members who you successfully engaged during the hearing. Thank them for listening to you. Remind them of what you would like them to do and why.

Understanding the big picture is something you do very well. Don't make the common mistakes which will get in the way of conveying that understanding to the committee.

*Donald J. Pfundstein is admitted in New Hampshire.

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