A meeting with a government official is not a conversation — it is a strategic engagement with specific objectives, dynamics and risks. The difference between a productive encounter and a wasted one is almost always in the preparation: understanding the official, their priorities and their constraints, and planning your approach accordingly. This one-day course builds the skills for that preparation and for managing the meeting itself.
Targeting the right officials, meeting preparation and objective-setting, relationship dynamics and persuasion, communication collateral for government engagement.
Every session runs in a small, boardroom-format group — typically six to eight senior professionals. Your trainer tailors content to the specific industries, organisations and challenges each participant brings, so you work on real situations, not generic examples. The learning combines evidence-based best practice briefings with structured discussions, practical workshops and peer learning. This is training with a coaching and consulting flavour — focused on building skills and producing outputs you can apply in your work immediately.
- Evaluate and target the most appropriate government officials for your goals
- Plan and prepare strategically for meetings with policymakers
- Manage challenging situations and crossed agendas during meetings
- Develop communication collateral that supports government engagement
- Build productive individual relationships with policymakers over time
- Adapt message frames and approaches for different government targets
- Navigate the complexity of government structures across jurisdictions
- Follow through effectively after meetings to sustain momentum
- Understanding how to negotiate the complexity of government
- Targeting stakeholders in foreign jurisdictions
- Honing messages for specific stakeholder targets
- Developing a deeper understanding of specific individuals
- Analysing relationship dynamics in different scenarios
- Adapting your message frames to different targets
- Using communications collateral in stakeholder engagement
- Evaluating the audience, purpose, language and content of communications materials
- Using corporate videos
- Following up your meeting
- Overcoming challenges
- Making your pitch: a workshop session
Executives and managers who engage directly with government officials, legislators or regulators and want to prepare for those encounters more strategically. Also relevant for public affairs professionals supporting senior colleagues in government-facing meetings.
The following are some of the ISOC trainers who regularly lead this course, depending whether you join us in London, Dubai or live online.
A great deal. The small-group format and intensive, practical approach mean every participant leaves with specific, applicable skills and techniques.
Nothing specific is required. If you have a current project or challenge relevant to the course topic, bring it along — the practical exercises can incorporate real-world contexts.
The course is designed for professionals with some existing knowledge who want to deepen their strategic capability. If you are starting from scratch, contact us and we can advise on the best starting point.
ISOC’s strategy and campaign courses cover the full programme of government engagement. This course focuses specifically on the face-to-face encounter: preparing for, managing and following up on individual meetings with officials.