TheCapitol.Net > Custom, On-Site Training > Working With Congress and Congressional Staff

Working with Congress and Congressional Staff
Strategies for Working with Congressional Staff
Learn to build relationships with those who can make or break your efforts.

Congressional staff are not just your way through a member's door--they are the door. How do you get results from these vital behind-the-scenes players?

Understand the do's and don'ts you need to know when developing relationships with congressional offices.
Learn the differences between personal and committee staff.
How to schedule, prepare for and effectively conduct your meetings with staff.
Find out which common mistakes will alienate staff and members alike.
We'll discuss what has changed since September 11, and what you must know to communicate effectively with Congress.
Which communication methods you must use in this new security-conscious environment.

A 1-page overview of this custom program is available (pdf)

Custom Training Information
Sample Agenda	9:00 Welcome and Introduction 9:05 The Role of Congressional Staff: A Former Member's Perspective 10:10 Break 10:20 Tools and Techniques for Communicating Effectively with Congressional Staff 11:35 Break 11:45 The Work of Personal and Committee Staff 1:00 Complete Conference Evaluations; Conference Concludes All custom training is tailored for each organization and audience. Topics from this program can be combined with topics from our other programs and with topics from your existing training programs.
Sample Agendas in pdf format	Sample agendas of different versions of this program tailored for previous custom clients are available in Adobe pdf format: Generic 1/2 day program As part of "legislative day" training for national association - Working with the 107th Congress and the Regulatory Process 3-hour program "Communicating Effectively on the New Capitol Hill" for national association 1-day including Congressional Dynamics session for federal agency - Dynamics of the New 107th Congress and Communicating Effectively with Staff Also see our "Legislative Day" Training for Associations, and Coalitions program See our Sample Agendas page for more. back to top
Audience Level	All staff who must answer phone calls from members offices, deal with congressional correspondence, or visit Capitol Hill will benefit from this training. back to top
Audience Size	This program is most effective for between 15 and 35 attendees. Don't have enough people for a custom, on-site program? You can still train your staff at our public course.
Previous Clients	Variations of this program have been presented for associations, federal agencies, and unions. Our selected client list includes clients who have purchased custom training, sent staff to our public programs and who have purchased our publications.
Faculty	The faculty for this conference includes registered lobbyists, former members of Congress, current Hill staffers, and other Washington experts. back to top
Rave Reviews	"Information very useful and it will greatly improve my ability to establish and maintain relationships with staff." Public Policy Fellow, American Psychological Association "Good pointers on how to interact with Capitol Hill staff in a productive manner." "Reinforces experience [10 years working with Congress] & education I have. On target." "I work constantly w/ Congressional staffs & I obtained great tips." Congressional Affairs staffer See more testimonials about this program. See what some of the attendees at our custom programs say about our custom training.
Course Materials	75-plus page course manual included. back to top
Length and Location	Usually requires 1/ 2 to 1 day. This program is usually held in Washington, DC. It can be presented anywhere in the world.
Internal Marketing	To help you publicize and market a custom program to your organization's audience, we can provide printed materials and language for your own internal promotion and publicity.
Fee	The fee for this program depends on the location, number of attendees, length, and training materials. Call us for details, or complete our custom program information request for more information. If you don't have enough people for a custom, on-site program, you can still train your staff at our public course. back to top
What is included in the fee?	TheCapitol.Net tailors each program to meet your training and educational objectives. Before we issue a cost proposal, we will work with you to tailor a program to meet your training objectives. We provide all course materials and faculty chosen for your topic and your audience at the time and location you choose. Our custom program clients provide the classroom/meeting space, all audio visual equipment, any food and beverages, all registration functions, and travel arrangements for attendees. When the program is held outside the Washington, DC metro area, travel arrangements for faculty can be made by the client or by us. We can also provide meeting space, audio visual equipment, food and beverage, registration, and travel arrangements, though this affects cost.
FAQs	See FAQs About Our Custom On-Site Training. back to top
Payment	TheCapitol.Net accepts all forms of payment for its custom training, including credit cards (VISA, MasterCard, Discover, American Express), government procurement cards, checks, EFT, and purchase orders.
About Us	TheCapitol.Net, Inc., is a non-partisan small business, and a Virginia corporation. We are registered with CCR. See our About Us page for more details. FEIN: 54-1917701 DUNS: 04-273-5071 CAGE: 1K5S4
Related Information	Congressional Deskbook Congressional Directory Congressional Documents Online Congressional Leadership and Committees (listing) Congress - Published Schedules Essential Hill and Political Washington Web Sites Essential PAC Web Sites How to Contact Congress Legislation and Legislatures, including national, state and local links Lobbying and Advocacy links Pay and Perquisites of Members of Congress Politics and Political News Selected Media Web Sites - from the Congressional Deskbook
Related Custom Training	Grassroots Advocacy on the New Capitol Hill Starting and Building a PAC: PAC Workshop How to Research and Compile Legislative Histories How to Work With the Media "Legislative Day" Training for Associations, and Coalitions Tracking and Monitoring Legislation back to top
Need more information?	Phone: 703-739-3790 Email: custom -at- TheCapitol.Net Complete our online custom program information request. back to top
Non-Partisan	TheCapitol.Net is a non-partisan firm, and the opinions of its faculty, authors, clients and the owners and operators of its vendors are their own and do not represent those of TheCapitol.Net.

URLs: www.TheCapitol.Net/CustomPrograms/swcsagenda.html
www.LegislativeTraining.com

Last updated: June 27, 2008