Effective Presentation Skills For Business Meetings
Three communication techniques to improve your business meetings
Posted on 10-11-2019, Read Time: Min
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Business meetings are a necessary evil. While they’re a great way to get things done, most of us waste too much time in unproductive meetings that lack focus. Whether your meetings include project updates, decision-making or brainstorming, the ultimate responsibility to keep things running smoothly lies with you, the communicator.
How do you keep things on track, on topic and on time when others in the room seem determined to derail your agenda or even challenge you at every turn? Implementing the following three techniques will help you conduct meetings your colleagues look forward to.
1. 90-Second “Wow the Crowd” Meeting Kickoff: If your meetings lack focus or if you struggle with how to kick off your meeting, this process will save you time and stress! We all know business meetings need a clear agenda. Believe it or not, I do not want you to start with an agenda. Instead, use the following three steps, which can all be stated in 90-seconds or less:
- Goal: State the goal of the meeting. I’m not talking about your goal. I’m talking about the goal of everyone else in the room. What will the information you present help them accomplish or achieve? If you’re conducting a budget meeting, the ultimate goal might be to save money. If it’s a project update meeting, the goal may simply be to move on to the next phase of the project. Your goal may be to brainstorm ideas. Either way, make sure you clearly state the goal right out of the gate to make sure everyone is on the same page.
- Current Situation: After you’ve stated the goal, you’ll state the currentsSituation. This step is designed to get buy-in from other meeting attendees. It could include current problems, challenges or hurdles the attendees face as it relates to accomplishing the goal. It could simply be the current environment or state of affairs. If you’re kicking off a reoccurring meeting where everyone in attendance already knows what’s going on, you can skip this step.
- Agenda: Now it’s time to state your agenda. Don’t go into detail on any topic. Think of your agenda as chapter headings in a book. You’re simply going to state the topics that will be covered. Refer to this list throughout your meeting to help keep conversations on track.
2. Command the Room: Let me be clear, by “command the room” I’m not suggesting that you lead with an iron fist. I want you to maintain control by keeping your meeting on track and successfully side stepping those who seem determined to derail you. The following techniques will help you accomplish this in a way your attendees appreciate.
- Refer to your agenda. When someone dominates the conversation or takes a topic “down the rabbit hole,” it’s time to get back on solid ground. One way to do this is by referring to your agenda, referencing the amount of time remaining and requesting that the conversation be managed at another time.
- Don’t maintain eye contact. Yes. You read that correctly. When responding to the individual who is dominating the conversation, don’t keep your eyes locked on them the whole time. Here’s what you should do to help squelch that negative energy: Make sure you repeat the comment or question and remove any negative verbiage. When you begin responding, start by looking at the person who made the comment, then slowly look away and make eye contact with others in the room. You can look back at the individual who made the comment during your response, but make sure you don’t end your response by looking at them. End your response looking at someone else in the room. This sends the nonverbal queue that it’s time to move on.
3. What’s Next? Make sure you leave enough time at the end of your meeting to wrap up with solid next steps. After all, what was the point of the meeting if no one knows what to do next? Clearly state who is expected to do what. Assign deadlines and recap any of the items that were left to discuss at a later date. Follow up with an email if appropriate.
Following these three techniques will help save you time when preparing for any meeting. Who knows? You may even inspire others to follow in your footsteps and stop wasting your most valuable commodity: Time.
Additional Resources:
Presentation Skills Video: Enhance Your Executive Presence
https://www.power-presentations.com/enhance-your-executive-presence-2/
Presentation Skills for High-Impact Introductions
https://www.power-presentations.com/presentation-skills-content-development-for-a-high-impact-introduction/
Four Steps to Manage a Challenging Question and Answer Session
https://www.power-presentations.com/question-and-answer/
Join us live! Free 30-minute educational webinars
https://www.power-presentations.com/products/free-live-online-education/
https://www.power-presentations.com/enhance-your-executive-presence-2/
Presentation Skills for High-Impact Introductions
https://www.power-presentations.com/presentation-skills-content-development-for-a-high-impact-introduction/
Four Steps to Manage a Challenging Question and Answer Session
https://www.power-presentations.com/question-and-answer/
Join us live! Free 30-minute educational webinars
https://www.power-presentations.com/products/free-live-online-education/
Author Bio
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Sheri Jeavons is President of Power Presentations, Inc. Sheri is the author of Tips for your Talk® and Master your Virtual Communications: A Webinars that Wow® Training Guide. She has also helped develop educational content for state-of-the-art presentation practice software, an AI-driven presentation simulator that provides real-time personalized feedback and education on vocal qualities, eye contact and content via the users’ computer and webcam. Connect Sheri Jeavons Visit www.power-presentations.com |
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