Key Insights:
- Get to your point faster.
- Make your points and ideas repeatable.
- Speak confidently and listen thoughtfully.
Speaking clearly, confidently, and concisely in meetings is an underrated form of public speaking. Presenting to a room of a few decision makers at your work takes just as much skill and preparation as speaking at a conference in front of 1,000 people. If you find that your comments in meetings are going unnoticed, your ideas aren’t being acted upon, or you’ve received feedback that you need to have more “confident executive presence” during meetings, try these three tips.
Get To Your Point Faster
Summarize your main idea or recommendation first and then provide the details. We often do the opposite, especially if we’re afraid of our idea being shot down. We tend to lead with disclaimer language. It might sound like this:
“Now, I know this has been tried before, and I know it might not be everyone’s first choice, but given our data from last quarter and given that I’ve already spoken to our external stakeholders, actually hold on, I have that chart right here…..”
Do you see the problem? You’ve been talking for almost a minute and haven’t even said the thing you want to say. Instead, try this:
“Here is my recommendation. Now, here is the data that supports it.”
Then, when giving the data or supporting details, more is absolutely less. What is the minimum information the audience needs to act upon it? Extraneous details detract from your point. If you know you tend to ramble, write out, in bullet point form, everything the audience needs to know before the meeting. Then see if any of the bullet points can be combined into a large thought.
Make Your Ideas and Repeatable
It’s unlikely that every single person who is needed to implement your idea is in the meeting. Your comments might need to be repeated to leadership for approval, delegated to a team to implement, or communicated to a vendor for a solution. Make it easy for the people in the room to repeat your comments. Imagine you’re watching someone in the room repeat what you said to someone else. What do you want them to say?
Ideas are repeatable when they are concise and clear. Stay away from jargon or lengthy explanations. “We should do X because it will achieve Y.” That is the kind of repeatable sentence you’re looking to pass along.
Speak Confidently and Listen Thoughtfully
The words you say are important, but how you say those words can be the difference between coming across as a confident leader and an unsure employee. This is especially true for new managers. Take a pause before speaking, leave space between your sentences, speak clearly and loudly, and when you’re not speaking, listen to what’s being said around you.
The time to practice your words in your head is before the meeting, not during it. During the meeting you should be listening to what others are saying. What are their concerns? How does this impact the ideas you’re about to present? Confident communicators are able to concisely show how their ideas fit into the other concerns and narratives being discussed.
For specific, individualized feedback as to why you’re not being heard in meetings and how get to better, contact Emily@EmilySchwartzSpeaks.com Most people see dramatic results and insights after our first 1-hour meeting.
