For most of us, it's inevitable: if we have a career, we will have to muddle through our fair share of business meetings. The room full of strangers, the stale coffee, the awkward silences, business meetings certainly have their fair share of discomfort. Still, attending a business meeting doesn't have to feel like the equivalent of going before a parole board. With a few tricks of the trade, business meetings can be tolerable, comfortable, and even tilted in your favor.
Keep the Showing Off to a Minimum:
Businessmen and businesswomen, when thrown together in a conference room, sometimes adopt canine instincts: they spend the entire time sniffing around the credentials of their peers. This is understandable: after all, you want your peers and superiors to be impressed by your accomplishments. But, showing off too much can result in a negative affect. Selling yourself to the sun can leave you burned: it causes you to look like a braggart while making your peers feel defensive. Instead of trying to compete with everyone, remember that you are all - at least in theory - on the same team.
Dress Well:
It may be hard to know what to wear to a business meeting. Is it casual? Are people showing up in sweat suits? Is it black tie? Is it somewhere in between? Most likely, you won't know for sure until you arrive. This is why dressing well becomes important. Dressing on the side of caution, and being over dressed rather than under, is the safest route. You will likely want to stay away from fur shawls and top hats, but wearing a business suit shows that you mean, well, business.
Wait Your Turn:
So, you're filled to the brim with genius and invention. In short, you have so many ideas you can hardly stop yourself from shouting them out across the conference room table. Even if this is the case, you must demonstrate some self restraint and wait your turn. Show interest in the ideas of others, listen to what they say, and don't automatically assume that you have better ideas than everyone else. If everyone assume that about their own ideas, nothing would ever be resolved.
Be Professional:
No on is professional at their job all the time. People take extra breaks, people gossip, people place bets on what will happen in the NFL playoffs. It is only human nature to slack from time to time. However, doing this at a business meeting can hurt you more than doing it at other times. To begin with, you might be surrounded by people who don't know you; their entire judgment is based on seeing you for these short hours. Thus, best behavior is warranted. Also, someone important may be watching your every move. The CEO of the company, your boss's boss, the Chairman of the Board could all be attending the meeting. While everyone is guilty of being unprofessional at times, pick your times. Save the slacking off for when your boss is out of the office.
Jennifer Jordan is an editor and staff writer for www.verbaladvantage.com. An English major and professional writer, she spends her days correcting people's grammar and wondering why she's unpopular.
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