Meetings – the bane of most people's lives.
In whatever organisation we work people will tell us they have too many meetings. So, before we think about how to talk in meetings, here are three golden rules:
- Whenever you are invited to attend a meeting, always ensure that you ask the organiser the purpose of the meeting and what specifically they want you to contribute. They must be able to give you a really compelling response to the question, ‘why me?
- Ask them for what part of the meeting they want you. Too many people attend the entire meeting when they are only really needed for a small proportion of it.
- Make sure you prepare your contribution, plan what you intend to say and consider what questions, if any, you may be asked and your best responses.
Talking in meetings – a four point blueprint for success
1. Get their attention
When you want to introduce an idea or make a contribution, do it directly! We often hear people introduce their ideas like this: "Well, that was really interesting. I’ve actually been giving it some thought myself and what I’ve been thinking is..."
Make your introduction like a headline from a newspaper article and people will want to hear the rest
Make your introduction like a headline from a newspaper article and people will want to hear the rest. Like this: ‘"The issue is far more significant than you realise..." or, "I have three things I want to say in response..." You get the idea.
2. Keep to the point
There’s nothing worse in meetings than people who wander off the point. Make sure each and every contribution you make is relevant and adds to the value of the meeting.
3. Good eye contact and positive body language
You’ll often find the importance of these stressed in any presentation skills workshop, however they are just as vital in meetings. If you want to get your point across keep people engaged and make a positive impression, you need to be conscious of how you are putting your message across.
4. Get everyone on side
Some people will agree with what you’re saying and some won’t, it’s the way of the world. You won’t win everyone over, but by building some cohesion in the group you are more likely to succeed, and you can do this by using ‘YES’ Sets.
These are simply statements with which the others can only agree. For example:
"Change is not always a good thing (YES from everyone), but if it can deliver a better way of doing things (YES from some) and get rid of some of the processes that have created problems for you in the past (YES from others), then it might be well worth considering, don’t you reckon?"
You’ve not said anything contentious but you have elicited three positive responses.
How You Can Talk to Anyone is available from 1 December, published by Pearson. Authors Tim Fearon and Emma Sargent are the founders of The Extraordinary Coaching Company
