Meeting and protocol Joseph Zennamo Your goal Our goal in DC is - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Meeting and protocol

Joseph Zennamo

Your goal

• Our goal in DC is two fold:
• Advocate for High Energy Physics
• Make a good impression of our field
• The first is driven by the second, if you make a bad impression

they will often times not listen to your message no matter how flashy or well polished your pick is

• Remember to always always be thankful of the time you are being

given and for the members

• Little things matter… (business cards, changing in the office,

being polite, etc.)

Types of meeting

• Be prepared for meetings to take many many forms
• Standard staffer meeting, 20mins
• Hallway meeting, 5-45 mins
• Closet meeting
• Meeting member (unlikely over our trip)
• “Walk and talk”
• AAAS fellows

Thanks
 Louise

Terminology and topics of interest

• As you go into these meetings remember our main goal is to convey the

enthusiasm

• This can be by discussing your research and or a neat aspect of physics
• Remember to tie it back to the P5 report
• If the staffer has little interest in science don’t push it find a topic that their

member is really interested in or pull it back to the grants and procurements in their district

• e.g. I find talking about how WATCHMEN (neutrinos from nuclear

reactors) really helps national security offices

• Last year discussing the people that left the field and entered the

“innovation economy” was a massive hit!

How to begin a conversation

• In general this isn’t too hard, use your materials and have a

set strategy for easing in

• If you get cold feet and don’t know what to talk about bring it

to the personal

• What brought you to science?
• Why do you do what you do?
• Remember that we are allowed to study science thanks to

the support of congress and the taxpayers

• Let them know how much that means and then ease

into how that transfers to the broader community

Reading cues

• Remember that these people are busy and you are not

their only meeting today

• Watch their face and their body cues, if you are losing

them and can’t get them back don’t prolong the meeting

• It makes a worse impression to be unnecessarily long

winded

• If the meeting is less than 20mins that’s OK
• Secondaries can play a strong role in observing the body

language

Primary-Secondary dynamics

• Primaries, as the name suggests, are the primary person

for talking at this meeting

• They have done the research and know the member

and the office best

• Secondaries are there to reinforce the message of the

primary, letting them catch their breadth and helping them to keep an eye on the staffer

• It is always good to get to a meeting a few mins early to

discuss a strategy for the meeting so that you both can help build each other up

Advocacy do’s and don’ts

• Don’t enter an office without your secondary
• Don’t change your shoes in the office
• Don’t make jokes about current events or news
• Do be excited
• Do remember that we get to do what we do thanks to

congress and the taxpayers

• Do have a good time