The nation’s attention in recent weeks has been riveted on the hearings of the House of Representatives Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol.
These hearings are atypical. Many of the features are unlike anything you are likely to experience when you testify. It’s more than the substance. It’s the format.
The focus here is on what you can take away from the committee’s proceedings when you testify on Capitol Hill. Keep top of mind the fact that your hearing is doubtful to look much like what we’ve been watching recently.
Let’s set expectations by discussing some features of the committee deliberations and how your testimony appearance is liable to vary.
TV Production Values
The January 6 select committee hearings are a TV show. I don’t mean that in a negative sense. Far from it. Use of video, pull quotes from text messages and emails, and a teleprompter all contribute to a production that draws viewers in. The committee had the wisdom to hire former ABC News President James Goldston to produce the hearings. This was an excellent decision, allowing a smooth flow with very few glitches or embarrassing moments of silence.
Most Congressional hearings don’t get this treatment. Video clips are rare. The one place video does come into play since the pandemic is the appearance of remote witnesses. This is likely to continue. I view this as a positive development since it gives far-flung experts and those with a tight travel budget the ability to express their views more than before.
The committee has made extensive use of displaying pull quotes on the screens visible in the room and at home. While this is not common in most hearings, some visuals are increasingly used both by committees and witnesses. If you request to use the screen when you testify, be sure your material is actually, well, visual. No bullet point laundry lists, please. That’s not what this visual medium was created for.
Teleprompters are rare in hearing rooms. While members of the January 6 committee have made abundant use of the technology, note that witnesses were not able to do so. Bottom line: Don’t expect to read your oral statement from a teleprompter.
A Roomy Space
The select committee is holding its hearings in one of the House’s larger hearing rooms on the third floor of the Cannon House Office Building. Unless your issue is a real headline-grabber, the space where you testify is likely to be significantly more compact.
In some of the smaller rooms, in fact, the lack of a raised dais means you are seated cheek-by-jowl with committee members. In that situation remember not to get too comfortable or chummy. Your goal at this all-important business meeting is to gain support for your position.
While the galleries for the January 6 sessions have been filled to the brim, you are more likely to appear in a smaller room with fewer observers, if any, in the audience. This is due to several potential factors. For instance, there are frequently multiple, competing hearings scheduled for the same hour. Also, your issue may not have widespread appeal (sure, it’s the biggest thing you’re dealing with, but in the overall scheme, it may suffer by comparison with concurrent hearings). Or the issue may not generate much heat or light. Finally, you and your staff may not have done the best job of ginning up a crowd.
Lack of Hostilities
One striking difference between the January 6 committee and the typical hearing is the lack of cross-examination. This is attributable to the GOP leadership’s decision to pull its chosen members from the committee. I’ll not get into the politics of that decision, except to urge you when strategizing your communications and public policy efforts to play out a few moves ahead on the chess board.
The collegiality has made for a highly professional environment with neither party sniping at the other. I don’t know about you, but I find such grandstanding off-putting. Solutions are more reachable when the backbiting takes a back seat.
You may well be able to gain a few pointers from observing the January 6 committee hearings. Use them the next time you or your executives testify on the Hill. Just don’t confuse the grandeur of these sessions with opportunities you are likely to face.
C-suite Blueprint 
[…] Lessons from the January 6 CommitteeWe Shall Fight […]