In Part I, I covered the mechanics of testifying in a public hearing of the Maine State Legislature, including how to find the bill number, the committee assignment and when the hearings would be. To be honest, I didn’t intend for this to be a two-part series, but as I wrote last week’s piece, I realized that giving tips on how to present your testimony is meaningless if you can’t find the date, time, registration information and location (and/or Zoom link). The logistical part of this is as important as the content of your testimony, so if you missed that, I encourage you to go back to the Feb. 1 edition of The Times Record.
This week, I want to focus on the content of your testimony. Previously, I answered “What is the best way to testify?” with the three options being submitted written testimony, testifying online over Zoom or testifying in person in Augusta. With the huge caveat that all testimony is helpful and valued by legislators, I did say that it’s hard to beat in-person for impact, but it can be a long, tedious process, so the other ways may fit with your life a little better and are still very effective. One thing I forgot to say last week is if you do testify online or in person, you should also submit your testimony for the legislators to look back on as they deliberate. This is especially helpful for them to get exact quotes and any statistics in your testimony.
Another thing to keep in mind when giving testimony is who your audience is and, namely, that it’s legislators. We have a part-time citizen legislator comprised of people who are business owners, farmers, retired school teachers and so much more. Just like any of us, they have expertise in certain areas but not necessarily in all matters. The best way to think about your testimony is if you were explaining your testimony to a neighbor of yours — what would you say so it was relatable to them? Start your testimony at that place.
Undoubtedly, some of the legislators in that committee hearing will be well-versed in the subject matter but certainly not all of them. Some of them may be first-term legislators just learning about committees themselves. Others may have an expertise on one specific aspect that comes in front of the committee but have limited experience in other areas. Some legislators may hold a particularly partisan belief, and your testimony may be the first time they’ve heard a reasoned argument that challenges their view from someone who isn’t a lobbyist. For all these reasons, you have a viewpoint and an expertise that could exceed those in the room, so use it as a time to teach them about why you see the issue the way you do. If you do so respectfully, in my experience, the legislators will listen — again, not unlike a conversation with a neighbor.
This leads directly into the length of the testimony. Typically, public hearings allow for people to testify for three minutes. After you state your name, the clock starts. This can be nerve-wracking, but not if you have a plan. My advice is this: Keep your remarks to a maximum of three points. To go back to the last week’s example of describing a restaurant to your neighbors, let’s pretend they said, “Tell us three things you liked about the restaurant”; you may describe the ambience of how the room made you feel, discuss how tasty one of the dishes was and how the customer service blew you away. From that, your neighbor would have a good sense of your feelings on the restaurant.
Notice how in that example that you didn’t list the restaurant location, their website, where to park, what the dress code was, the entertainment at the restaurant and so on. Now you may have comments on all of those pieces, too, but you didn’t have the space to tell them all of that; you just picked three important aspects. That’s exactly what your testimony should be. A telling, in your words, of what you find to be most important.
That brings us to another important piece of advice: Use your words — not a bunch of six-syllable words that you wouldn’t use in your normal life. You’re not being graded on the perfect word choice; the idea is to present your viewpoint as clearly as possible. Also, if you throw in too many words that aren’t in your regular working vocabulary, it can lead to you stumbling during your presentation. Tripping over words is fine, but what you don’t want is to trip so often that you lose the spirit of what you’re trying to say because you’re trying to impress too much with your word choice.
Finally, be helpful and not antagonistic. That may seem obvious, but in our partisan world, too often people devolve into labeling and stereotypes. It isn’t helpful. Let’s use the restaurant conversation example with your neighbors, if you said something like, “With your lack of culture judging by your Christmas decorations, this restaurant might be a little too classy for you,” your neighbors will ignore whatever else you say. By leveling them with some disrespectful comment, you invalidate your entire testimony.
However, if you do participate and wait as long as it takes to testify, it will be well-received. I waited four hours to testify last week — that in itself carries weight. Only people that truly care will commit their most precious resource of time to this endeavor. Giving of your time, especially when they know you’re not a lobbyist who is being paid to be there, carries significant weight as well. They want to hear from you. Whether you give that time writing a testimony or delivering testimony in person or via Zoom, the fact that you engaged helps the legislators, and it will make you feel better, too.
Cory King is executive director of the Bath-Brunswick Regional Chamber of Commerce.
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