Business meetings can cause quite a headache – and yet, they are an integral part of many careers. Whether your anxiety about business meetings stems from public speaking, the fear of being judged, a poor prep routine, or something else entirely, these dos and don’ts will help you navigate them successfully and whilst keeping your sanity.
Dos in Meeting
1. Prepare ahead of time
Whether you’re the facilitator or a participant, flying by the seat of your pants in business meeting situations is a surefire way to let chaos ensue.
Whether it’s by prepping your notes, going over your presentation, fact-checking, or something else. Take time to prepare before the business meeting – ideally the night before, and not the morning of.
Working professionals in leadership and senior roles ought to prepare for the business meetings more competently. To run a highly effective meeting, you will need to improve your speaking and presentation skills.
By advancing these skills, you will be able to deliver your messages more clearly and hook your audience. Participating in presentation and public speaking coaching programs will help you learn the techniques that make your speech memorable and impressive.
2. Keep Notes
Whether on your laptop, tablet, or even a spare notebook paper, keep detailed and efficient notes during the meeting so you can refer back to them later on. This will make you appear much more attentive and organized, and show your coworkers that you take their ideas seriously.
3. Speak Clearly And Confidently
If no one can hear your ideas, no one can listen! Likewise, if you seem untrusting or unsure of your own ideas, no one else will be likely to believe in them, either.
When addressing a group try to ask few questions, speak loudly, clearly, and with confidence – sit up straight, make eye contact, and say what’s on your mind!
Don’ts in Meeting
1. Talk When Necessary
While you likely have many amazing ideas and it’s extremely important to make your voice heard, feeling like you always have to contribute something to conversation – even when you don’t have anything to say – leads to repetitive points and conversations, and wasted time. Only contribute when you have something of value to add to the conversation.
2. Don’t Try To Multitask
While taking notes on your laptop, you may drift over to your Amazon tab and do some online shopping – resist this urge!
There’s nothing more embarrassing than being called on while you’re obviously not paying attention – or more infuriating for your other coworkers who are properly dedicating their time.
3. Don’t Dread The Meeting
While business meetings can be tedious at times, entering the situation with a bad attitude will only make it worse. Try some reverse psychology on yourself – act engaged (asking questions, smiling, etc…).
Talk about a great way to impress your boss! Not only will the time fly by much faster, but you’ll find yourself getting more out of the meeting and leaving feeling excited, not drained.
Final Thoughts:
Implement these dos and don’ts the next time you have a business meeting approaching and watch it go more smoothly than ever before – with less stress!
Comment down your best and worst business meeting experiences, as well as what made them good or bad – did you prepare beforehand? Leave it all up to chance? Learn any great lessons? We want to know!
