Have you ever considered that meetings potentially offer you a brilliant opportunity to raise your profile and get yourself noticed as part of your everyday routine?
A meeting is a forum that provides you with a chance to create a persona that could impact on your ability to affect your own career, in either a positive or negative way.
In knowledge-based businesses, being constructive, confident and effective in meetings can be the difference between career success and stagnation. Demonstrating a willingness to share ideas and propose solutions to issues facing you and your department, will also illustrate that you have self-confidence and are engaged in what is going on around you.
Meetings are a good example of an area where we come into contact with people outside of our day-to-day regime, whether inside or outside of the organisation. Meetings can be complex because, unless they have been assembled solely for the purpose of putting out a leadership communication, it is almost impossible to predict what will be said, and who will say it.
There is a chance that, by the time you get to give your input, the meeting could already be running late, so how much time will you realistically have? The truth is that, long before you have your say, you will have portrayed valuable information about yourself; key subliminal signals about you and your capabilities that could help shape your career prospects, are already being sent out.
For the purpose of this chapter we are going to assume that meetings may involve people outside of your normal peer group, including people from outside of the organisation; people you are working in partnership with on a project, clients, or suppliers. There have been many examples of (new) careers being developed, as a result of positive exposure in meetings. Sometimes, without even knowing it, we find ourselves networking with new people within a meeting environment. By way of comment and feedback during a meeting we also have the opportunity to ‘subliminally advertise’ ourselves, which is much more effective and compelling than a photocopied CV that looks similar to everyone else’s. Now is your chance to impress with your personality, experience and passion.
First impressions
We all know that first impressions are important; we are all guilty of judging others by their appearance, and so how you dress and your overall demeanour needs careful consideration, especially if you are not well known to everyone assembled. Whilst the collar and tie/business suit is no longer the only way to dress, and the concept of ‘dress-down Friday’ increases in popularity, how you appear will actually contribute to the way in which your words and deeds are interpreted by others. Armed with this knowledge, think carefully about the image you choose to portray through your appearance.
Advancing your career might mean an internal promotion, a move to another department, or even a move to a different organisation; perhaps even one of the other companies represented at your meeting. So, even before you have uttered a single word, you may have been judged already as being:
- convincing;
- trustworthy;
- professional;
- efficient;
- well prepared.
It is not just your appearance, clothes, hair, and the state of your shoes, etc., but the whole aura of your personality. Did you burst in a few moments late with a stack of papers and files under your arm, only to spend the next few minutes looking for the correct documents for this meeting? If you did, then you are on the back foot before you have made your first conscious contributions.
Choose your seat
If you have been given the choice of seats, does it matter where you locate yourself around the meeting table? Right from being an adolescent, in a theatre-style situation we avoid the front rows at all costs. In a boardroom style, if we know where the meeting leader is sitting, our first instinct may be to sit as far away as possible. The underlying fear is one of being put on the spot during the meeting without having a meaningful answer in response. If you want to get noticed and give your career prospects a boost, then sitting at the front or opposite the meeting leader is where you should be aiming for. By being fully prepared, there should not be any questions that you cannot handle, and you will be perceived as a confident, engaged participant right from the outset.
Your personal ‘Elevator Pitch’
On the occasions when groups of people meet for the first time, quite often the meeting leader will give everyone an opportunity to introduce themselves. Typically people are truly unprepared for this very common occurrence and, generally, the introduction process then degenerates into one or two sentences from everyone that does little more than confirm their name, job title and length of time with the organisation. This format is usually then adopted by the remainder of the group, so little new information about the other participants is exchanged.
Sales people are schooled in the value of having an ‘Elevator Pitch’ (even if they are not familiar with the phrase) prepared about the product, service, or organisation they represent. When an opportunity presents itself to outline briefly what they are offering, they are ready with a concise ‘hook’ that will entice their listener to want to know more. The Elevator Pitch must be credible, succinct and must offer a solution to an actual business problem. A successful ‘Elevator Pitch’ – named after the amount of time you might get by chance with a key prospect who is unexpectedly riding in the same elevator – needs to be properly constructed and practised to such a level that it sounds completely natural and credible. In the ‘elevator’ situation you have not got the time to go through your complete sales pitch, but if you can offer what sounds like the viable solution to a real business problem the prospect has, then there is a good chance that your ‘hook’ will give you the opportunity to sit down and present the whole sales pitch in due course.
Elevator Pitch
Named after the amount of time you might get with a key prospect who is unexpectedly taking the same elevator, a successful Elevator Pitch needs to be properly constructed and practised to such a level that it sounds completely natural and credible.
So your personal ‘Elevator Pitch’ has to offer the same compelling insight into you, with the same hooks that leave your fellow meeting participants wanting to know more about you. It is the reason why you are employed by your organisation and are representing them in the meeting.
Even if the meeting leader has not asked everyone to introduce themselves, think about giving a short personal introduction the first time you are asked to contribute.
‘As there are some people here that I do not know, let me just briefly introduce myself . . .’
Remember that, whilst your delivery has to be natural (achieved through practice), it must also contain the following life saving CPR ingredients:
Concise
Professional
Relevant
‘Good morning everyone. My name is Jane Hammersley. I have worked in the audio visual industry for over 10 years, in which time I have worked for resellers, distributors and manufacturers. More recently, with my business partner Duncan Peberdy, we have set up a new organisation called Space 2 Inspire, purely to focus on helping companies transform every meeting into a Brilliant Meeting.’
A personal ‘Elevator Pitch’ is a long way from a CV, but in just a few words it tells those around the table that you have the credibility to be sitting in your seat and that you have had significant, relevant experience within the marketplace.
What is more, in the above example, your credibility has been reinforced, your personal confidence has increased, and you have gained the respect of the others around the table.
When there is a break in the meeting for refreshments, you have just given out some interesting information that should easily allow others to strike up a conversation with you.
Depending on the size of the meeting you might consider standing up to deliver your introduction. Even if those who preceded you remained in their seats, standing not only builds confidence and respect, but also ensures that everyone hears you clearly. The act of standing up will also encourage those present to give you their full attention.
If you have not heard of an Elevator Pitch before, there are plenty of good examples on the Internet with advice on how to construct them for maximum effect. Alternatively visit www.meetingexpert.co.uk for further guidance.
- Envisage how a guest speaker might be introduced at the annual event of a professional organisation. All their major achievements will be listed to justify the money you have spent buying a ticket to the function, with the draw of this big name being present. Use this as the starting point for collating your personal Elevator Pitch information, but tone it down and make it relevant to the subject of the meeting. Make it brief enough so that you do not come across as too arrogant.
- Have more than one personal ‘Elevator Pitch’ prepared – think about the different content you would use at internal/external and formal/informal meetings.
Making the right contribution
Your energy level needs to be sufficiently high so that you project an impression of being motivated and upbeat, but not so much so that everyone thinks you have been consuming energy drinks all morning.
Whether you are delivering a formal presentation or just providing a verbal update on a project, prepare and visualise your opening words. Pre-prepared notes and questions will increase your confidence. Depending on the interaction during the meeting these might have to change, but having them prepared will build your confidence, and a good start to the meeting will earn you respect.
Prepare written notes containing your thoughts and ideas. Have questions detailed along with any supporting material. This will give your confidence a real boost.
Good communication is the key to your personal success and, for you to demonstrate your capabilities – to help you stand out from your colleagues – you need to have total control over your ‘performance’. Control means being fully prepared to present, whatever may conspire against you to reduce the impact of your message. In other words, you need to PREEMPT any eventuality that might occur.
Preparation
You have worked for hours on putting together a PowerPoint™ presentation, so what can go wrong? What if the projector is not working or the cable to connect it to your laptop is missing? How will that affect your confidence? But, instead of appearing disorganised and phased by the problems, if you know your presentation inside and out, and have the passion to deliver it without the planned resources, it still can be a rousing success.
Recap
If you want a key message to get through, then repeat it at least three times. It is no coincidence that advertisers repeat their messages during all the breaks on the same TV show. You can find many different ways to get the same message across, so your colleagues will not consciously recognise your winning tactic.
Educate
What is the point of delivering any contribution that does not contain new information? It is all very well being entertaining, even motivational, but to really make your mark focus on sharing information with the group that they did not already know. This will really set you apart, perhaps even single you out as a ‘thought leader’; someone whose knowledge, experience and opinions matter.
Engage
Momentum
Given that so much of what we communicate is non-verbal, get up from behind the desk or lectern and fully interact with your group. Now your movement, coupled with your passion and knowledge, will produce a momentum to your presentation.
Passion
Passion is the element of your presentation that will stay with the group for the longest time. For your passion to be credible you must be well informed and knowledgeable; but above intelligence and accuracy, it will be your tone and passion for the subject that will be the most memorable.
Trust
Unless you make it very clear that you are making judgements, suppositions and estimates, the information that you present must be accurate. Handouts should expand on any statistics to prove their authenticity and, where necessary, supporting material should be available. Do not fall into the trap of presenting what you think people want to see and hear if it means ‘bending the truth’.
In Chapter 4 we have provided comprehensive information and guidelines on developing and delivering presentations for anyone involved in meetings. When it is your own reputation on show, by being fully prepared for all challenging eventualities, you can prove to be more than just dependable. Now watch your career take off.
Using positive language
- Periodically reinforce the importance of your contribution by relating it to the purpose and objectives set for the meeting.
- Dependent on the meeting subject, use inspirational words to help your audience visualise your point of view: imagine, think about, consider, wouldn’t it be fantastic if . . .
- Reaffirm ‘your experiences and successes’ to add value and credibility to your input.
- If you are going to aim a question at a specific individual, use their name at the start of the question so that they know immediately that this is directed solely at them.
- Avoid using jargon. Even if just one person does not follow what you are saying because of acronyms or technical phrases, and has not got the confidence to ask, then the impact is reduced.
To assist you in remembering everyone’s names, make a sketch of the table layout, and note where each person is sitting or arrange their business cards in order. After the meeting, this will make recall of people and their input more successful.
Meeting ground rules
Without a set of ground rules, participants will rely on their own interpretations of what constitutes acceptable behaviour in meetings. With the massive growth in wireless technology, two of the biggest contributors to interruptions are personal laptops and Blackberry™-style communication devices. Despite the door of the meeting room being closed, many meeting participants continue to do ‘other work’ with these devices. Some people even think it acceptable to answer their mobile phone, and then leave the meeting room to involve themselves in a conversation.
Every organisation will benefit from having ground rules in place that confirm to all what constitutes acceptable behaviour in meetings. These rules are suggested in Chapter 2. However, by adopting these guidelines in advance, you will earn the respect of your colleagues and hierarchy immediately. These are essential standards to ensure that meetings become as effective as possible, thereby increasing the overall productivity for organisations for whom meetings are the very lifeblood of product development, customer retention, improving business processes, etc.
Volunteer
Within many meetings there is often a necessary but unpopular job that needs a volunteer to take it on or otherwise needs delegating. Volunteering for this role – so long as you have the time and energy to make it a success and it is a project with high management visibility – will earn you some positive career credits in the short term. If you can deliver a successful outcome in the timescale and to budget, then the career points will multiply. Even if the outcome is not 100 per cent successful, your willingness to put yourself into the firing line by taking on such a job or task will not go unnoticed.
Likewise, if you have the opportunity to represent your organisation within a professional organisation or community project then take it on. You will then have two career advancing opportunities: as an official representative of the organisation and through increasing your network of valued contacts.
Conclusion
So, whilst meetings exist primarily to achieve the objectives of the organisation, never lose sight of the opportunities to further your own career by playing a full and active role in every aspect of them.
For using meetings to advance your career
- Look the part of an engaged and interested participant – remember first impressions really do count.
- Sit at the front, or opposite the meeting leader.
- Have a natural yet rehearsed personal ‘Elevator Pitch’ prepared.
- Show that you are listening attentively and actively by taking notes.
- Use positive language.
- Send an email to the meeting leader, thanking them for the meeting and giving any relevant feedback.
If you do what you have always done, you will get what you always got!