Do find your email inbox filled with an increase in meeting requests? I would be surprised if you respond with a “no”. Some recent studies reveal that, conservatively, the average US employee spends approximately six hours per week in scheduled meetings and supervisors spending more time than non-supervisors. Other estimates show that senior managers attend almost 24 hours of meetings every week. If you add the meetings we have with doctors, CPAs, teachers, etc. these numbers would grow to staggering amounts.

Before The Meeting

I’d like to pose three questions for you to consider before you go into that next “big” meeting.

1. What do you want the other person to understand? Your answer should include plainly stated details so the other person clearly understands your idea, product or service.
2. What information do you want to get from this meeting? What questions do you want to or need to ask? Jot down questions you want or need to ask. This minimizes the possibility of you walking away from the meeting without asking critical questions.
3. What do you want them to do? Make sure that your ask is something easy to respond with a “yes”. Also keep in mind that many people don’t like to be rushed into a decision, so be ready to move slowly toward your objective. In other words, a follow-up conversation or discussion may be needed before you “close the deal”.

In The Meeting

Once you get into the meeting room, your job is not to be the speaker. Instead you need to be fully present and pay attention so that you can adapt or even toss out your preparations depending on what is happening in real-time. Remember to turn the cell phone off (or at least put on silent). A sure way to blow a meeting is let the other person conclude you have better things to do than focus on her or him. I know firsthand about this myself – I can’t tell you how many people I have mentally dismissed because they were texting or reading emails from their phones during one of my meetings.

After The Meeting

Send a follow-up email that starts with a sincere thank you for the other person(s) time and attention.  Then recap agreed actions with timeframes for completion or the time for the next discussion.

Most of these tips apply whether you’re preparing for a complicated business negotiation, discussion with a vendor or supplier, a job interview or a short elevator chat with a potential new contact. If your ultimate goal is success, then you should be intentional about every meeting you have.

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