Advocacy Meetings 101: Managing the Clock

Life a Browns fan instills an incredible amount of patience.

This past weekend was rough. In all aspects of the game, it seemed like they just hadn’t shown up for the game. Despite a spark on the opening drive, I found myself spending the remaining 3 hours wishing the clock would just move faster to get past the lackluster performance.

But, like this past Sunday, there are a lot of times in life when we don’t control the clock. In the world of political advocacy it’s especially easy to fall victim to this problem.

Most politicians, by the nature of their work, develop the gift of gab. They invest years, even decades in developing deep ties to those they represent. Along the way they tend to make genuine links to the volunteer advocates who come to see them. This tendency is amplified when those officials have a similar upbringing, educational or work experience as those advocates. Those commonalities create a sense of comfort.

But that comfort can diminish your effectiveness and facilitate a mission failure.

That might seem counterintuitive, I know. After all, I constantly harp on the importance of that relationship building. But at the point of friction, when you’ve got precious moments to convey your intent and share your stories, a loquacious legislator can prevent you from getting past the pleasantries.

I’ve seen it too many times to count. And if I’m being honest, I’ve used the trick myself. It helps a meeting to go smoothly if everyone feels buddy-buddy along the way. And if you talk just enough, an advocate can walk away feeling great about the exchange even though they never made their ask. In short, they run out the clock – and for your advocacy team that’s a mission failure.

Most advocacy groups do a great job providing information to their advocates on the issues and bills they want them to discuss. Some of them go the extra mile and help their advocates develop meaningful personal stories to reinforce the organization’s position. Very few help volunteer advocates build a plan for how they will manage the clock, and agenda, of the meeting.

There are surprisingly few resources out there for this kind of meeting management. Most in the advocacy realm want to keep their processes close to the vest, thinking it will give them a competitive edge. But within your own advocacy experiences, start asking questions about meeting management.

Who will watch the game clock for the team? Who will manage getting the participants involved in conversation? When will we share a story? And who will make the ask?

A quick conversation to answer these questions can revolutionize your advocacy meetings. It empowers would-be advocates in a meaningful way and will help you make a positive difference in their experience.

Most importantly you’ll avoid the stress we Browns fans know all too well.