Few activities in the business world are as all‐consuming as meetings. Studies show that “busy professionals” attend more than sixty meetings every month¹ and spend approximately 40 percent of their time in meetings.² CEOs spend a full 85 percent of their time in meetings of various sorts, including scheduled and unscheduled meetings, brief encounters, conference calls, and networking events.³ Put another way, top executives spend only 15 percent of their time alone not speaking with anyone.

You as a leader have a wonderful opportunity to influence and inspire in these meetings. Listen attentively, build upon the ideas of others, and when you speak, take time to collect your thoughts—even amid the cross fire that often takes place in meetings. You will not only be bringing better thinking, better decisions, and better attention “to the table,” but you will be creating a profile of yourself as a leader day in and day out.

The examples in this chapter will show you how to craft your impromptu remarks for common meeting scenarios. The remaining chapters in Part IV of this book discuss how to create scripts for job interviews, networking events, elevator chats, toasts and tributes, informal speeches, and Q&As. In all these settings, the not‐so‐hidden secret of success is preparation.

Let's look at four common types of impromptu speaking in meetings.

Project Updates

This one you should knock out of the park. You know it's coming so get ready. Your boss asks for an update on a project or a string of projects. Realize that project updates are always a little more than just that. What you're really doing is selling your boss, and anyone else in the room, on your work and why you think it matters—and why it should matter to them, too.

To do that well, you need to avoid the mind‐numbing, fact‐based approach: “This happened, that happened, here's where we are, blah, blah, blah.” It's a poor idea to provide that jumbled‐up selection of good news and bad news. I learned the dangers of that tack in my first corporate job. I presented good and bad news about my projects, and wondered why my boss glared at me. I soon realized my job was to sell the projects and show they were in good hands.

Your remarks need to sound spontaneous—but you'll want to have a few notes as memory joggers. The end product should be a thoughtful status report. So jot down notes in advance about how you'll position each project. Start by writing down a positive message for each project, no matter what stage it's in. Then write down or type out several reasons or ways your project can be shown to be in good shape. On your way to work, run through that messaging in your head. You don't need to memorize it word for word (in fact, don't), but you do need a mental outline that will guide you through your project update.

When it's your time to present, begin with your grabber. If you're presenting to your boss, you might say, “You'll be pleased about Project X.” Then set forth the positive message: “It's on track to deliver higher revenue for our salespeople.” Always make sure your message inspires. If your group is underperforming, don't hide the fact, but have a message that commits to turning the situation around. Poor results? Show why they'll get better.

Once you've delivered the above message, move to your proof points:

• First, this project will help us identify new markets.
• Second, it will allow us to tap into those markets.
• Third, it will provide metrics to measure our success.

Finally, your call to action (“Stay tuned!”).

Such a script will allow your boss to sleep well. Position every project in this way, and you'll demonstrate your leadership and build confidence in your team. Just don't sound boastful or self‐aggrandizing. When you've got successes to your name you can be humble.

Briefings

Briefings are much like project updates, but they usually focus on providing an overview of a current situation—a new business opportunity, a recent initiative, or an up‐to‐date view of the economic environment. Again, you know this one is coming—and you can prepare. Don't bring into the meeting more than a few notes—if any—but store the outline in your mind. Things can go wrong if your script is not well organized.

I once worked with a vice president whose first draft of a briefing to a senior executive committee lacked coherence. It was an info dump that said nothing, and was beyond boring. It sounded like this:

Good morning. I'm here to provide an economic update for you.

You've recently read in the media about many issues that challenge our bottom line. However, when we review that data, it is largely—although not entirely—positive. The economic recovery is continuing.

What are some of the problems? The European political scene. Housing markets are weakening. Consumer debt is a concern….

I asked him to stop delivering—we both could see that his audience would have been confused about what he was arguing. We worked together using the Leader's Script to anchor his thinking with a strong message. Here's the revision:

GRABBER. Good morning. I know you, as our senior management team, are keenly interested in our business environment. I'm pleased to provide you with an economic update.

MESSAGE. It's a positive one: The pace of recovery is accelerating, and that's good news for us in the insurance business.

SITUATION. The signs of recovery are abundant.

• Positive GDP growth
• Improving retail sales
• Strong corporate data—high profit margins and cash positions

RESPONSE. Our investment returns have benefited from these developments.

• Equity returns are strong.
• Bond portfolios beat expectations.
• Credit quality is higher.

CALL TO ACTION. As we work on our next quarter projections, we should see evidence of this favorable economic news.

What a difference! The Leader's Script spells salvation to anyone who wants to brief people in meetings. The outline can be jotted down in advance, and mastered mentally. Or if you feel more comfortable taking the notes with you, sketch in the outline on a small note card or the back of a business card, and bring that to your meeting. The preparation will serve you well in the moment of delivery. In fact, this VP got “kudos” from his executive committee—and they will remember him as a clear‐thinking leader.

Sharing Ideas

In meetings, you are expected to share your ideas. Let's say you've been working on an HR project for the past four months. Or you've just finished reviewing the spreadsheets on costs and expenses. You might not be scheduled for a project report or briefing at the meeting, but you should be prepared to speak about your ideas. You want to make a good showing when questions are directed at you. And even when no one has a specific request, you can often enrich the dialogue by sharing your insights.

It pays in all these cases to know what you want to argue, and how you'll back up your ideas. Let's suppose you're the finance guy, and someone turns to you and says, “Tell us about this new investment we just made in the oil service industry.” Without preparation, you might only come up with the name of the company, what it does, and the fact that you spoke to its management, etc. etc. But such facts do not suggest your expertise or insights. Far preferable would be the following script, which shows a strong, clear point of view.

GRABBER. Glad you asked, Bill.

MESSAGE. We have made a major investment in a company called Terracor, which we believe has great value.

STRUCTURE.

(SITUATION): Terracor is an exploration and development company with tremendous resources that will serve it well for years to come. Right now, we believe, the market is underpricing its reserves. By looking at similar transactions, we believe its reserves should be valued at a dollar a barrel. But the market is only pricing them at 25 cents a barrel. That's a huge difference.

(RESPONSE): So we saw Terracor as a bargain and made a $100 million investment. We view it as a good, long‐term play. But we'll also win big if they're acquired by any of the major oil companies.

CALL TO ACTION. We'll closely watch developments and keep you up to date.

The speaker has an excellent command of his subject matter, and comes across as a savvy, clear‐minded individual who presents a compelling argument. Who in the room would not feel the portfolio is in good hands with this individual making the decisions? He has used the Leader's Script to great advantage.

And while the name and details of the company have been changed, this is a real example of a young man I worked with who went on to establish an investment company that's a top performer in its category. His name is Jonathan Bloomberg and he is CEO of BloombergSen. Communicating well is thinking well, and performing well.

Collaborating

So much meeting time is spent in repartee that you'll want to be proficient at working with others to build collaborative solutions.

There is no better example of how collaboration can work in meetings than one provided by Rich Bellis, my editor at Fast Company. He explained to me: “One of the first things I noticed after joining Fast Company was that my coworkers were comfortable disagreeing with each other without things getting heated or personal. When a writer or editor brings up a news event or a question of interest, it usually isn't a finely honed story angle yet. After others weigh in, you can usually tell whether or not there's enough there to run with. But whichever way it goes, there's rarely any sugarcoating or snark in the dialogue.”

“In fact,” says Bellis, “It's all about the idea. Recently a couple of other editors, a staff writer, and I were batting around potential headlines for a story we're running. The first couple I proposed got shot down right away—the writer suggested a key phrase that might be more interesting. Then another editor said, well, actually, this other idea in the story might be the better thing to focus on. I disagreed, pointing out that the first concept was more likely to interest readers. Finally, we wheeled back around to a totally different headline than the first few we'd considered. Because everyone was focused on the same straightforward goal—finding the right headline for the story—there was simply no time to get possessive about any one idea, and subsequently no chance for the discussion to turn personal.”

This is an excellent example of leading in the moment. No egos. No defensiveness. No politics, just collaboration for the sake of finding the best idea. In such repartee, someone—or everyone!—may challenge you or ask a pointed question about something you've said. Don't react or fight back. For example, if a colleague says that a deadline for your project does not seem feasible, listen to their reasoning. Maybe they're right—as in the Fast Company example, it's good to be open to other opinions besides your own. You can learn a lot by listening.

But if you believe your deadline is viable, use the Leader's Script template to build support for your thinking. Begin with a friendly grabber (“I'm glad you asked about that. I know that deadline may seem tight.”) Next, pause and think out your message and deliver it (“But I assure you we will meet our deadline.”) Pause again, and bring together in your mind your proof points. Then deliver them (“#1 Our team's on schedule. #2 Our technology is up and running. #3 Our trials have been successful.”) Close with a call to action (“So everything's on track with that timing”).

You'll make life easier for yourself if you can “game out” some of the repartee you might encounter at the meeting. Creating a few responses in advance will enable you to come across as thoughtful (and intelligent!) in the heat of vigorous exchanges.

Everyday meetings are a crucial venue for leaders in any organization. They provide you with an opportunity to reaffirm basic values and move forward the projects that you're committed to. But to achieve that success, strengthen your skills in the ways suggested in this chapter. Mastering those techniques will help you lead in the many meetings you attend each day.