The Livable Communities Coalition with
assistance from 1000 Friends of Washington wrote the following suggestions for
providing effective testimony before planning commissions, city councils, and
county councils and county commissions. It is important to remember that your
city or county wants to hear from you. That is the whole purpose of public
hearings and other methods of public involvement. Help out your city or county
by participating in the Public Process!
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Arrive
early. If you do not wish to
wait, be sure to show up at least a half hour early in order to sign up to
testify for contentious issues. If you do not arrive early, it may be a long
wait if it’s a contentious issue. Also, often the news media, especially TV or
radio reporters, is present only for the first 20 minutes of the hearing – if
you want to get your message out, sign up early.
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Prepare.
Usually there is a
three-minute time limit. Prepare your presentation to include two or three key
points. Practice or role-play your testimony.
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Identify
yourself. Begin by giving
your name. Usually you must state your full address. If you are testifying for
a group, state the name of the organization or group, briefly describe the
group’s mission, and state how many members it has. Remember, that you have the
most flexibility if you testify both on your own behalf and for your group.
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Clearly
state your position. Give a
clear and concise description of your position on the issue, comprehensive plan
amendment, or development regulation amendment.
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Speak
from your own experience, either
personal or from your work. Talk about how the policy in question affects you
and people like you. Use your own words. Do not use unfamiliar terms.
Formulated testimony is not as impressive and eloquent as speaking in your own
words. Describe or show through pictures how the issue affects you. If you are
going to use photographs or a power point presentation and do not want to hand
out copies, check in advance on what kind of audio-visual equipment will be
available for use in the hearing room. While some hearing rooms have overhead
projectors or LCD projectors available for your use, many do not. Check with
staff in advance so you will not be surprised.
You do not need to
be an expert to testify. Your experience and your informed opinions can be
persuasive. Do be well informed and well organized.
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Stick
to the facts. Offer clear
and well-documented comments. Make sure that what you state as fact is correct
and, as appropriate, take care to distinguish opinion and interpretation from
uncontestable information. If you have the time to back up your information
with citations to reliable sources, you can help counter the perception that
activists speak out on these issues based solely on emotion. Try to use sources
that your audience will consider authoritative. By making your comments clear,
specific and on-point, you help to assure that decision makers will be required
to give your concerns serious consideration and, at the very least, prepare
responses that speaks directly to your issues. It is best if you can provide
copies of the sources of your facts to the decision makers.
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Don’t
read your testimony. The
committee or council will listen to you and appreciate your testimony more if
you tell it from the heart and not from a script. Your oral testimony does not
have to be exactly the same as your written testimony. You are more likely to
be listened to and quoted in the news if you don’t have your head buried in a
page.
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Prepare
written testimony, if you
have time. Bring enough copies to distribute to all members of the Planning
Commission, City Council, or County Council or Commission; key staff; and the
media. At the top of the page, put your name, your organization (if any) and
how to get in touch with you. Putting your points “in the record” can be
critical, if you eventually need to appeal to a higher authority to overturn an
unfavorable decision. Also, if you want data or a report to be part of the
record, you should submit a copy with your testimony. Otherwise, it may not be
available if you decided to appeal.
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Request action. State exactly what you would like the Planning Commission, City
Council, or County Council or Commission to do.
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Don’t just ask questions. Testimony that consists primarily of asking questions is
ineffective. The purpose of a public hearing is to hear your comments. It is OK
to ask a question, but it is better to ask staff the questions before the
hearing.
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Offer solutions. Whether speaking to a specific or general approach to an issue,
solutions or feasible alternatives are always well received.
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Be respectful and courteous. Never blame anyone or make accusatory remarks.
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Stay within the time limit. Time your testimony so that it will fit within the
time limits. If you have a lot more to say, include it in your written
testimony or ask someone else in your group to work it into his or her
testimony. In case time runs out on you before you have a chance to finish your
remarks, be sure to have a point that you can skip to in summation – the point
you want to leave them with.
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Thank the Decision-Maker(s). Close your presentation by thanking the committee or
council.
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Offer to answer any questions. It is usually acceptable for legislators to interrupt
the presenter to ask questions. Answer the questions and return to where you
left off in your testimony. Be sure to answer questions honestly. If you do not
know the answer, say so. If possible, defer the question to another testifier
who may have the information.
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Listen to other testimony. Try not repeat exactly what a previous speaker has presented –
this is why speaking from your own experience is so effective, because your
experience is likely to be somewhat different.
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Make notes on what your opponents say at the hearing, so that you can be ready to
rebut their arguments or double-check their information for errors and
inconsistencies.
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Do Not Be Alarmed if You Are Sworn in before You Are Allowed to
Testify. If you are testifying on a site specific or
quasi-judicial decision or a permit application, you will most likely be
required to swear or affirm that what you say is true. In some cities and counties, speakers are
sworn before testifying on legislative actions, such as comprehensive plan amendments
or area wide rezones. The purpose
behind these requirements is not that the decision-makers distrust you; rather
they are trying to emphasize the importance of the occasion. Just speak to what you know and you will be
fine.
Information in this document drew
in part on the following sources: