making an effective contribution to a meeting

Targeting Your Meeting Presentation
Meetings often include participants from a broad range of personality types. So the question then is; which group should you aim your presentation at? How can you ensure that you make an effective contribution to a meeting?

The answer will depend on the size and composition of the group. Whilst there are an infinite number of scenarios we will consider three examples which illustrate the issues you should consider when deciding how to pitch your case:

1. You are going to present your case to an audience of around twenty people, who are not well known to you. In this situation, you may not be able to gain any specific intelligence about the group. You could exploit the fact that large groups tend to be fairly homogeneous - that is there is likely to be a predominant personality type. Consider the characteristics of the group. If, for example, they are sales and marketing staff they are likely to be Emotives, a senior management group will be predominantly directive whereas engineers will tend to be Reflectives.

2. You are going to present your case to a mixed audience. The first question you should ask yourself is whether or not the group contains a key decision maker who will influence the others. If you can establish that this is the case then target your message towards that individual.

3. In this scenario the meeting involves a small mixed group, but this time there isn't an identifiable key decision maker. Your best strategy is to prepare a presentation that sticks to the facts. This will keep any Directives happy - and they are often the most influential. The Emotives will be satisfied because your delivery will be fact based and punchy. To keep the Reflectives happy prepare a handout that will supply further details. The Supportives will be influenced by the others, but may also justify a pep-talk before or afterwards to address the specific concerns they may have.

Do’s & Don’ts
The more attention you give to a meeting the more you will get out of it and this will reflect positively on you in what is a very visible environment. Attentiveness at meetings really is a win-win scenario and the reverse also holds true. There are some useful guidelines for maximizing your professional conduct at a meeting:

Do
1. Listen carefully to what everyone has to say.
2. Encourage reticent members to have their say.
3. Concentrate on the positive and eliminate the negative.
4. Keep your focus on the identified objectives.
5. Contribute when you have something to say.

Don't
1. Arrive late.
2. Demonstrate negative body language.
3. Leave early without a good reason.
Effective Listening
It can be just as important to listen carefully in a meeting as it is to speak. Make a conscious effort to appear interested in what the speaker is saying.

The use of positive body language can play a very important role in encouraging others to speak. In any intimate communication there is a natural tendency to mirror the body position of the person you are talking to, and this behavior tends to result in a more relaxed and agreeable atmosphere. You can put other participants at ease by being aware of this and making a positive but subtle effort to mirror their body language - but don't overdo it. Other useful techniques to employ to become a more effective listener include:
Show an interest.
Express support when appropriate and use positive body language to encourage the speaker.
Don't interrupt.
If you need to clarify something, make a note of it and ask when the speaker has finished.
Clarify your understanding.
When the speaker has finished, recap the main points briefly to check your understanding and demonstrate a real interest.
Swap places.
Put yourself in the speaker’s position and think how you would regard any comments and challenges you are considering.
Be positive.
Look for things that could be developed, rather than those you wish to challenge.
Avoid interrupting or hurrying someone who is speaking. If you think of questions whilst they are speaking, make notes and ask these at the end as you may find that they cover your point later. Listen carefully not only to the content but the emphasis of what people say, you may find that their viewpoint is far closer to, or further from, your own than you first thought.

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