Sending an email, making a phone call, or meeting face-to-face with your elected officials on behalf of AIG can be an effective way of educating them on a public policy issue. These tactics can provide an excellent opportunity to convey and receive information, and they help the company develop relationships with that office making future communications more influential. 

Here are some simple Do’s and Don’ts to follow as a grassroots advocate:

Do

1. Make certain you are registered to vote in the state and federal legislative districts in which you reside. Legislative aides frequently check to see if a constituent from their district that contacts or meets with them is registered to vote. Your message will carry more clout when you are eligible to vote for or against the legislators that represent you.
2. Only contact or meet with the legislators who represent the state or legislative district in which you live, unless AIG’s Government Affairs staff specifically directs you to another lawmaker.
3. Do your homework ahead of time. Research the legislator’s voting record and know whether he or she sits on any key committees that affect your issue. You should visit the member’s website and search online for useful background information on their interests and stances on policy.
4. Always research AIG’s policy stance on an issue you wish to discuss before contacting or meeting with a legislative office by reviewing the online resource materials provided by AIG’s government affairs office. Contact a member of the Government Affairs team [link to meet the team] if you have questions or are uncertain about any aspects of an issue.
5. Be clear and concise in any interactions by phone, email, or when meeting face-to-face with a legislator or their staff. They should understand what issue(s) you are addressing, AIG’s position, and always include an action request (even if you only asking them to be aware of something). Remember your advantages: you are the expert; you deal with these issues on a daily basis, and more importantly, realize their real-world implications; and, you can speak to how these issues affect their constituents and communities based on your everyday experiences. 
6. When calling an office or conducting an in-person meeting, listen to the legislator or legislative aide. Ask them to indicate the legislator’s position on the issue(s), and then listen for cues to see if their party’s leadership or a special interest is pressuring the legislator to take one position over another.
7. Share a story or experience that involves constituents from the lawmaker’s state or legislative district. Be certain to note specifically how a policy will impact their constituents.
8. Always be accurate with information you share. If you do not know the answer to a question, don’t be afraid to say so. Promise to follow up after the meeting. This allows for a great opportunity to build rapport with the office, as you are following up with information at their request. Then, contact AIG’s government affairs staff immediately so you can provide the office with the accurate information right away.
9. Anticipate questions or an opposing stance by the legislator or staff, even if they traditionally are an ally of AIG’s position. Prepare your response to any pushback from that office in advance.
10. Offer yourself as a resource in the local community that office represents and provide your contact information (phone, email and mailing address). This is particularly helpful to the office of new legislators or offices whose districts have been redrawn (when constituent boundaries are redrawn and they are now representing constituents for the first time). Periodically provide new information about issues you have discussed with that office to demonstrate your willingness to help them. Always remember to thank the legislator or aide for her or his time. 

Don’t

1. Never become confrontational, argumentative, or threaten a lawmaker or legislative aide, and never use inappropriate language.
2. Don’t confuse the reason for your call, email or meeting by discussing multiple issues, or issues unrelated to AIG’s concerns when contacting an office on behalf of the company.
3. Never provide an answer or information about which you are uncertain, information you know to be false or lie in any communications or meetings with a legislative office.
4. Don’t reference your views and beliefs on controversial topics unrelated to AIG’s legislative priorities.
5. Never fail to follow up with the policymaker or their staff, especially when you have promised to provide them additional information.
6. Don’t inundate legislative offices with mail, emails or phone calls. If an office needs additional information, they’ll contact you.
7. Never forget that you are representing AIG and creating an impression of the company when contacting or meeting with a legislative office on behalf of the company.
8. Your contribution to the electoral campaign for a legislator, to AIG’s Employee Political Action Committee (PAC), or your vote in November should NEVER be discussed in a communication or meeting with a lawmaker or their staff.  
9. Never offer anyone in a legislator’s office gifts of any kind. Ethics rules governing allowable gifts to legislative offices can be quite complicated. Our goal is to build rapport with offices rather than “buy influence.”
10. Don’t ever disregard the staff who answer the phone or greet you when visiting a lawmaker’s office. Today’s administrative assistant could become tomorrow’s legislative director, district director or chief of staff (and sometimes, tomorrow’s legislator).