Personal Development
Essentials

How to make an impact in meetings

How to make an impact in Meetings  

Whether we like it or not, for some of us, much of our time at work is spent in meetings. How much we  consider the value of the meeting is a matter of choice. We can treat them as a waste of our time, and that’s what they will be, otherwise we can see them as an opportunity to build a relationship with our colleagues and to understand our organisation better, and then the time will not be wasted.  

Many crucial issues are discussed and important decisions made in these meetings, whether we like them or not. What is also very important in these meetings is the behaviour and psychology behind them.

Here’s a few important points to consider the next time you attend one of the these meetings.    

Where you sit in a meeting is extremely important. You should not sit opposite the chairman or the most senior person in the meeting, otherwise you will be in conflict with them.

1. Always sit at the right side of the chairman or senior person if they are right handed, otherwise left side if they are left handed. They will be more inclined to turn towards the person on their natural side to discuss the issues.

2. The joke that gets the loudest laugh is always told by the most senior person in the meeting.

3. Do your listening first and then speak. If you have to wait to make your point, then wait. It will have a much bigger impact when you do make it.

4. The best way to make an impact in a meeting, especially when a lot of jargon and technical words are used, is to simply ask what it means in a clear and concise voice, the chances are if you are not sure about what is being discussed others will not be either.

5. Having the right body language and non-verbal communication like mirroring the chair or senior person, or nodding of the head plays a crucial role in meetings.  

How do you get the other meeting members to agree with you and like your points? Eye contact is very important, and that coupled with the appearance of being interested works very well, (you don’t have to really agree with them but just make them think you do). You can also give the occasional nod of the head, but not too much or too often.  

The way to get the most out of meetings and the keep them to a sensible time is to have all the big decisions made before you enter the room. If there are any important decisions to make, get them done beforehand outside of the meeting, that way you will not have to spend a lot of time debating them.

 

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