The 90-second Speech is crucial in a face-to-face meeting with a policy-maker-or anyone else you hope to inform and persuade.
Memorize a little speech before your meeting. It's not only handy for talking to legislators, but it will serve you well when explaining your issue to anyone. Your speech should include:
- Who you are and any group or coalition you belong to.
- The topic you came to talk about.
- What you want them to do.
- Refer to the fact sheet you've brought along
- Your fact sheet is crucial, too. If your meeting gets interrupted, you'll still have got your point across, and the legislator will know how to find you or your group if she/he has any questions. If not, you can elaborate on the points in your fact sheet.
Here's an example: "Hi, I'm John Smith. I'm a parent with 2 children, and I'd like to talk to you about child care subsidy. I'm hoping you'll vote yes on HB 1234, which would increase funding for child care subsidy in Oklahoma. This funding helps my family pay for quality child care. Because I know they are receiving care in a safe, nurturing environment, I'm able to go to work and focus on my job, knowing that my children are being well-cared for.
Here's a sheet with some more information. It includes my phone number in case you have any questions later. Can I count on your vote for HB 1234?"
Adapted from Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy, Four Practical Tools: Advocacy Toolkit