The first step to showing off your smarts is to actually be smart. Take a good look at the meeting invite. Make sure you’re up to date on all the topics on the agenda. Read the materials supplied and e-mail the host with any questions you have. If someone is calling a meeting, it better be worth your time and your co-workers’ time. When meeting invites don’t include an objective, ask for one. Example: If you get an invite that looks like this… Respond with this… Here at TEAMINGS we have walls painted with whiteboard paint so we draw directly on wall, but old fashion whiteboards work too. If you’re on a web meeting, you can ask to use the program’s whiteboard. When people’s eyes start to glaze over and the discussion runs in circles, it’s time for the smart person in the room to bust out a visual aid. Get out of your seat, grab that stinky dry erase marker and attempt to explain your point (or someone else’s) with a chart, diagram, mind map or picture. Photo by Brett Taylor on flickr Have you ever been in a meeting where the discussion goes in circles? People talk and talk, but nothing ever really gets solved. This is a pretty common issue. As the smartest person in the room, you can put a stop to this by asking, “What’s the real issue here?” Bring everyone in the meeting back to the problem at hand and drill down to the real issue. Often, when meetings get out of control it’s because the people in the room don’t agree on what the real issue is. They are all trying to solve a different problem. No wonder they can’t agree on a solution. You can see if this is the problem by going around the room and asking everyone what they think the real issue is. “We need more customers!” is not the real issue. The real issue may be that ‘our marketing strategy isn’t working’ or maybe ‘our sales people aren’t making enough connections’. Each of these issues could lead to a lack in new customers, but the solutions are very different. {More on identifying the real issue and solving problems here} Most hosts don’t do this so they’ll appreciate you taking the effort. As the meeting progresses, jot down the action items everyone in the meeting commits to. At the end of the meeting, say something like, “Great! What a productive meeting, host’s name! Let me make sure I have this right. By next week, I’ll ____list all the action items you’ve committed to___. Tim will ___list Tim’s action items___. Sarah will __list Sarah’s action items__ (etc.). Do you want me to type this up and e-mail it to everyone?” You may be lucky and have a meeting host who raps up a meeting by listing action items. Don’t step on their toes. You may still want to offer to type up the To Do List and send it out to everyone. We all make mistakes. It’s part of life and business. But when our mistakes are brought to a public forum, the knee-jerk reaction tends to lead toward self-preservation. People get embarrassed. They want to cover it up, pretend it never happened. Maybe they’ll even blame someone else. Smart people know that’s not the best way to handle things. When your mistakes come to light in a meeting, fess up. Explain what went wrong, how you plan to ensure it doesn’t happen again and ask for feedback. This shows that you are not afraid to fail. It shows you value the input of others and that you are prepared to learn from your mistakes. Remember no one likes to hear a list of excuses. They want issues resolved and they want reassurance that you will know better next time. Photo by: Inspiyr.com There are plenty of other ways to show off your brain’s wherewithal in meetings. But you’ll be well on your way to impressing even the most impervious boss if you follow these 6 tips. Join the conversation! How do you show off your smarts in meetings? Comment below.
Meetings are great places to showcase your mental acuity. There’s no better place really. Your co-workers are present, your boss is present, everyone who has a say in your career path is present. That means it’s time for you to shine. Set a good example, show off your smarts and ensure effective meetings with these simple tips.
Come to the meeting prepared.
Hold the host accountable.
Draw on the Wall
Say “What’s the real issue here?”
Make an action items list
Take ownership of your mistakes.
