Contacting Your Elected Officials

VT-NEA members play an important role in building support for legislation and policy. Face-to-face meetings with local, state, and national elected officials, and their staffs are especially valuable, and can even be held back home. Contact by phone and email can establish and reinforce the relationships that influence legislators, too.

Your stories and experiences are the most powerful tool we have. Sharing them can galvanize, warn, and persuade in a way facts, numbers, and statistics do not. Here are some tips on how to proceed.

First, Request a Meeting

Contact members of Congress

Addresses, phone numbers, and other basic information are available online using the look-up tool above.

Schedule the meeting

Plan to meet with elected officials or their staff in person or virtually, as some offices may still prefer the virtual option.
If the office is accepting in-person meetings, ask whether the number of participants is limited.
Let the office know what issues you plan to raise and who will attend.
Don’t be put off if the meeting is with staffers—elected officials rely on them and take their advice.

Remember: no permanent friends and no permanent enemies

Don’t take traditional friends for granted.
Never write off a legislator just because of party affiliation.
Don’t make enemies of legislators—you may need them as friends in the future.

Prepare for the Meeting

Practice what you plan to say

You may find materials posted on vtnea.org and nea.org helpful, particularly during the planning stage.
Decide who will participate: Include people with compelling stories. Have a pre-meeting to determine who will speak and what role each person will play.
Remind everyone: The day before the meeting, send an email reminder to all participants, including staff for the member of Congress.

Potential roles

Meeting leader: Makes introductions, runs the meeting, keeps track of time and agenda
Story teller: Shares a compelling story related to the issue you are lobbying
Delivery person: Presents leave-behinds
Pitch person: Makes the “ask”
Meeting recorder: Takes notes on what happened and what you promised to do—very important when follow-up time comes

Sample agenda

Introductions: 3 minutes
Explain your goals: 5 minutes
First educator story tells story: 3 minutes
Second educator tells story: 3 minutes
Reference VT-NEA & NEA leave-behinds: 3 minutes
Make the “ask”: 5 minutes
Review next steps: 3 minutes
Thank you: 1 minute

During the Meeting

Introduce your team

Meetings can be virtual, using a platform like Zoom, or face-to-face.
If you’re meeting virtually, pay attention to dress, lighting, your surroundings, and how it all looks onscreen. Mute yourself when not speaking.

Make your pitch

Use personal stories to emphasize why the issue matters and connect through values.
A good story, even a short one, is about something that happened to someone. It needs to be true, and it needs to have a beginning, middle, and ending.
Numbers can get in the way. Make sure they’re compelling.
Don’t use jargon.
Don’t try to cover every angle with one story.

Be clear about the “ask”

Your request needs to be specific, tangible, and verifiable.
Put issues before politics. Bipartisan works; demands don’t.
Be open to questions.
Don’t worry if you can’t answer a question or are unsure of the answer. Admit it and say, “I’ll look into that and get back to you.”
Have patience and keep your sense of humor!

Follow Up

Email a thank-you after the meeting

In addition to expressing your thanks, repeat the “ask.”
Answer any questions raised during the meeting you were unable to address at the time.
Be sure to provide any materials you promised to provide.