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Are You Ready For Your Next Congressional Hearing

Corner AllianceMarch12, 2015

Congressional Hearing Success

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• Understanding why Congressional hearings are difficult and some of the challenges leaders face

• Effective communication practices• Proven strategies, techniques and innovative

tools to succeed when presenting on the Hill

Testifying Can be Daunting

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• Congress has its own agenda and perspective• They have constituents, committee members, and

their own priority issues• When leaders are unable to provide specific details

and answer questions during testimony their agency’s credibility could suffer

Resource Impact of Hearings

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• Leaders spend valuable time gathering and vetting data to defend budgets and programs

• Agencies commit significant resources preparing for and carrying out a Congressional hearing

Challenges of Congressional Hearings

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• Leaders are expected to have all of the answers

• Leaders are typically alone without the support of their staff when presenting

Challenges of Congressional Hearings

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• The scope of questions is often unknown

• Testimony does not stand alone, it is included with the many testimonies you or your agency have given before

The Perils of Testifying to Congress

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Traits of An Effective Communicator

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Insider Tips When Presenting to Congress

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Understand your agency’s hearing preparation and data gathering

processes

Stay close to your customers

and stakeholders

Ensure your agency stays

visible

Know Your Audience

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• Do the research on who the committee members are. Where are they from and what are their interests?

• Do they have priority causes or issues?

• Have they introduced legislation or amendments in your area?

• Do they have personal connections to your work?

Preparation

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• A presenter should research and be prepared for as many questions asked of them as possible

• Agency leaders are expected to be aware of large and small details, and a presenter should be well versed in all aspects surrounding an issue, especially those being discussed by the media or general public

Practice, Practice, Practice

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• A presenter should practice in front of a live audience before the real event

• Any practice session should be as similar to the real setting as possible, and the audience members should ask difficult questions and interrupt to give the presenter experience of being in a difficult setting

• It can be helpful to prepare a list of hot topics that could come up and practice how to best respond

• Videotape your practice session

• Know your audience• Do the preparation work needed• Practice, practice, practice• Use support tools such as Insite

Effective Techniques Overview

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Insite- Leading with Data on Demand

• Insite is a presentation and knowledge management solution that delivers the data, when it is needed most

• The tool: – Automates the process of collecting and vetting data from across your

organization– Allows leaders to respond to key stakeholders with the right, vetted

information– Cuts costs and minimizes resources need to prepare for presenting to

key stakeholders

• To complement Insite, Corner Alliance combines proven presentation tactics, training, data management and strategic consulting with this innovative tool

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Benefits of Insite Data Module

Saves valuable time and resources when searching for information

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Creates an efficient process for gathering data across an organization, in real time, from multiple platforms or mobile devices.

Increases an agency’s transparency and accountability

Benefits of Insite Leadership Presentation

Delivers a high-stakes information lifeline to presenters with real-time collaboration with staff

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Provides one-click access for sharing vetted information on demand. Allows access to data in real-time and around the clock regardless of platform or device

Offers an intuitive presentation environment that is cloud-based, web enabled, platform-agnostic, and mobile friendly

Summary

• Congressional hearings are challenging

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• Leaders that have been successful on Capitol Hill are prepared, understand their audience, practice often and use tools such as Insite

• Successful hearings can bolster an agency’s credibility and help an agency communicate its value and priorities to Congress and other stakeholders

Learn More

• Visit www.corneralliance.com• Check out the Insite Video• For a demo of Insite or to learn how

Corner Alliance can help you or can help your organization contact: Ron Prater at rprater@corneralliance.com

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Questions?