Receptions . . .
by Gem P. Daus, Director of Policy
March 8, 2005
On my way home from the reception I realized I was hungry. I hadn't eaten enough, even though there was a nice spread of meat hors'd'ouevres, cheese and crackers, veggies, and honorable attempts at eggrolls. I guess it's a good sign that I left hungry. It means I was busy working the room, sidling up to power, and cutting deals that would change the course of history.
Not!
No one ever taught me how to work a room. But it's a very important skill because I go to a lot of receptions. Because politicians go to a lot of receptions. Because their poorly paid and overworked staff go to a lot of any event where there is free food. Because I like free food, too. When Congress is in session, I can get invited to one each week. When I first started, I felt obligated to go to all of them, but these days, one or two a month is plenty. This one was put on by AAPCHO (Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations) on their annual lobby day in DC.
The best ones are late in the afternoon (when hunger kicks in), on the hill (easy access for legislators and their staff), for 70-100 people (big enough to be anonymous, but small enough to actually talk to a lot of people), in a small room (where it's hard to hide), with low ceilings (so your discreet conversations don't travel), and of course, with a nice spread (which, for security reasons, is usually catered by the hill's own catering service). AAPCHO always has a special touch: leis that the Hawaii clinics bring to bestow upon the VIPs.
I'm not sure if I'm any good at working a room. I don't consider myself a social butterfly by nature. I'm more of a panda: just give me some bamboo and I'll take it to my artificial habitat where I can eat in peace. But it's part of my job, so I have gotten better and more comfortable. Here are a few tips I've picked up along the way. If you have a few tips you'd like to share, I'd love to hear from you. I'm still learning.
- Arrive 30 minutes after the start time (or arrive early, eat a lot, leave, then come back). Just like any social event, if you get there too early, you look desperate. So walk slow. Make a call. Stop into the restroom to make sure you are presentable.
- Once there, station yourself by the door (but not near the sign-in table--you don't want to look like the help). This is the most strategic location for seeing who comes in and being the first to notice. It's also the best location for seeing who is leaving that you haven't talked to yet. When they (VIPs) come in, you want to make way. When they are leaving, subtly stand in their way.
- Don't station yourself near the food. Yes, everyone eventually goes for the food, but no one wants to be interrupted when they are getting food.
- Eat with your left hand so your right hand is clean when you go to shake someone's hand.
- Don't talk to any one person too long. No one expects you to have a full conversation, so it's okay to move on. It's also helpful to have a friend around who will "rescue" you.
- Don't give it up on the first date. You want them to need you after the reception. So tease them with some intel (short for "intelligence"), give out your business card and make a show of writing your cell phone number on the back. You're giving them special access to you.
- Leave before the end of the reception, but make sure people know you are leaving. Act like a Filipino and make it a long goodbye (this usually means announcing you are leaving at least 30 minutes before actually going out the door).
Sometimes, a group of us will go out to dinner after the reception. In fact, I prefer that so I can get more time with a "person of interest", but mostly so I can eat. That didn't happen tonight because there were other receptions to go to. But at least I got lei-ed.
Updates
- Last week, US District Court, Southern District of California, dismissed a lawsuit filed by ProEnglish. Yay! ProEnglish was trying (again) to "outlaw" the LEP guidance that HHS (US Department of Health and Human Services) uses to help grantees comply with civil rights law (see APIAHF's statement at http://www.apiahf.org/policy/culturalcompetence/20040831pr_eo13166.htm). The case was dismissed because the doctors that ProEnglish named in the lawsuit had no standing to sue: meaning they had not been injured by the guidance, had never hired an interpreter or had a situation where they would need one, and were not even recipients of federal funds. And the female doctor's name was Lynn, not Sue.
In his 17-page opinion (I don't know why they always report the number of pages), Judge Moskowitz wrote:
"Commonsense [sic] indicates that failing to provide any interpretive services to an LEP patient who cannot understand or speak English--and therefore cannot effectively communicate with an English speaking physician--does more harm to the doctor-patient relationship than merely providing a third-party interpreter."
The doctors claimed that physicians can rely on body language, or on the patient's English-speaking family and friends, to which the judge cited the guidance's caution against such practice. Nice touch.
- The Senate and House hope to present their annual budget resolutions this week. This is the first step in the appropriations process and it's supposed to be done by April 1. That's an appropriate date because it never really gets done that early. Simply put, the resolution states the total amount of the federal government budget (the pie) for the next fiscal year, and the total amount for each of the 13 appropriations bills that fund the government (the pieces of the pie). One of those bills funds HHS, along with the Department of Labor and the Department of Education. We generally refer to it as Labor-H. Once the size of the pie piece is set, all three agencies have to fit into it. So an increase in one agency means a decrease in another.
But the budget resolution is non-binding, though the party in power tries to make it stick. Some years the House and Senate pass different resolutions (which causes big problems later on) or don't pass a resolution at all (which causes big problems right away). So I'll continue to explain the appropriations process little by little as this year's cycle progresses. Click here to read our statement on the budget:
For comments, suggestions, feedback, email Gem P. Daus at gdaus@apiahf.org
