Something bad has happened: The organization you’re tasked with leading and defending has found itself in the crosshairs of Capitol Hill. Removing, for a moment, what’s occurred that has brought you to this crossroads, it’s important to look at the facts:
- You have very little time to prepare.
- What little time you do have to prepare will be spent with your lawyers, going over the myriad ways you could inadvertently set yourself—and your organization—up for a liability nightmare. And, as a result,
- You may lose sight of the significant communications opportunity your upcoming testimony will provide you to set the record straight to stakeholder groups that matter.
Taking a step back, very few people want to be called to testify in front of the Senate or Congress. It’s okay to be less than excited. More often than not, you, as the conduit of your organization’s message, are rarely in control. You get a handful of minutes to provide your written testimony, after which you prepare for the hours-long onslaught of friendly and unfriendly questions from various members of the committee or subcommittee.