check the boxes
v. phr.— «In lobbying parlance, this is known as “checking the boxes”—meticulously informing powerful congressmen and senators about a transaction they might want to weigh in on down the road. Lobbyists live by the rule that when it comes to senior government officials, surprises should be avoided at all costs.» —“Microsoft, Google Come Out Lobbying” by Jeffrey H. Birnbaum Washington Post Feb. 4, 2008. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
When a teenager went a week without talking as part of a school project, he noticed a surprising side effect: Instead of rehearsing a response to what other people were saying to him, he was focused on listening — and feeling smarter as a result...
Responding to our discussion about thin places, those spots where the boundary between this world and other realities seems narrow or permeable, a listener in Kirkland, Washington, sent us some eloquent thoughts about her own experiences of that...