How to run a meeting people want to stay awake for

Picture the scene: you’re at the top of the table. Sitting around you are people from different departments and organisations, and they all know their stuff. They’ve got facts and figures at their fingertips.

And they’re looking to you to run the meeting.

And you’re looking to put your public speaking tips into action to impress.

What do you do?

More about that in a moment…

But first let me fill you in a bit.

It was my first time running a steering committee.

I was in a new role, in a new company, working in a new sector.

What I wasn’t was confident.

And my new colleague, who’d been showing me the ropes as I was onboarded, had come along with me to the meeting.

Afterwards as we walked back to the car this is what she said.

“Well, that was…. that was efficiently done.”

I knew enough to understand that what she meant was that I had run through the meeting with the speed, and perhaps all of the grace, of a 3 year old with an ice cream van in her sight.

What it looks like when your reptile brain kicks in under stress

What had happened?

Unconsciously, my reptile brain had come to the conclusion that moving swiftly meant the meeting would be over quickly. 

Done.

Phew!

And then the pressure’s off.

Emotionally, I remember feeling nervous. A bit out of my depth.

There were serious people at that table. There was a formality to it all.

On the sideboard was water and coffee and tea.

There were oil paintings on the walls.

A steering committee.

Something that could be driven well - or into a tree.

And all eyes were on the person who was leading it, me.

Here’s what I know now, more than twenty years later.

How to use your public speaking skills to successfully chair a meeting

And if you can put these 7 things into practice I promise that you’ll run your next meeting in a way that makes people want to stay awake. And incidentally, these are techniques that I cover in more depth in my 1-1 programme, Communication Spark:

1.     Don’t obsess on perfection. Doing something for the first time means it’s highly likely it won’t go perfectly. Accepting that and giving yourself some self-compassion lightens the load.

2.     Know your audience. Do your homework on who’s at the meeting. Why are they there? What can they contribute to it? What do they need from it?

3.     Agenda. This doesn’t need to be long but the clearer it is the easier it will be to refer to. So, keep things simple. A good agenda can help keep you anchored to the purpose and the flow of the meeting.

4.     Facilitate and involve others. Eye contact and smiles go a long way. Use questions to engage people. Invite introverts to share their thoughts.

5.     Breathe properly. I know. You may be reading this thinking, well yes, of course, I think I’ve mastered the breathing thing by now, Mica. But when you’re nervous your breathing gets shallow. And then your mouth is like the Sahara. So make sure you’ve a glass of water by your side and this will help nip in the bud any public speaking anxiety.

6.     Silence is okay. It is, honestly. It gives you space to think, to reflect on what’s just been said, and to problem solve. And all of these things show your engagement in the meeting. 

7.     Ask questions to deepen understanding. Questions show you want to learn, join the dots up and make progress. We often think they’ll make us look weak, but they show a mind at work.

So, there you have it. Seven tips to help you keep focused and keep your head.

Where can you next use these?

And what tips do you have to add to make leading meetings better?