Work meeting: 5 keys to optimizing your speaking skills?

When we talk about a work meeting, the first words that come to mind are: “meeting preparation”, “slides”, “meeting minutes”, etc... But what about speaking out? Do you think enough about the impact of your voice on the way the meeting goes? The content of a presentation is undeniably important, but the form in which it is delivered matters just as much.

So, how can you make speaking a real lever for developing your impact and influence during a work meeting?

Valérie Rocoplan, professional coach and CEO of Talentis, shares her valuable advice with us.

First of all, remember that the work meeting is a major element of your influence. It contains all the elements that you need to master in order to be able to provoke decisions, optimize your strength of conviction within a group, speak your mind, listen, exchange ideas that are different, sometimes manage situations that are a bit conflictual... In short, a lot of things happen in meetings that are symbolic of your power of influence.

Here are 5 keys to making your speech a lever of influence in a work meeting.

Key 1: Preparing your work meeting

Ask yourself, “What is going to happen? Who is going to be there? What decisions will be taken, what information will be exchanged? ”

“What am I preparing on my side? What are the elements that I need to discuss, that I need to share, or decisions that we need to make together that will allow me and my team to move forward on an important subject? ”.

You need to prepare for these meetings, because if you don't prepare them, your speech may be more chaotic, less reasoned, less strategic, or simply not at the right level.

Key 2: Speak in an adjusted manner during the work meeting.

Speak in meetings in a way that is adjusted to the situation. The fundamental mistakes are talking too much by not taking the time to listen to all the people around you. Or, on the contrary, not taking it enough and therefore, to pass for someone who has nothing to say, who is not interested, who is not motivated, who has no ideas... In short, there are multiple interpretations and it is best to avoid paying the price!

In a work meeting, speak up, give your ideas, give your beliefs, give your beliefs, listen, ask questions, advance the debate by the intelligence of your questions.

In short, be totally present, the main thing is to show your presence, your desire to move forward, to succeed, to generate ideas that make the team at the end of the meeting smarter than at the beginning.

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Key 3: work on your voice

Your voice has a huge impact on what you say, and it's easy to forget. Speaking up is certainly important, but how much do you know about your voice?

Did you know that, under stress, your voice can become very high (this is what happens when the vocal cord pinches and our voice rises) and thus lose impact. Work on your breathing, lower your voice as much as possible and you will gain more impact. There is evidence that the lower the voice, the more it is listened to.

Also, work on the rhythm of your voice, don't speak too fast so that people can understand what you're saying. Also think about the tone and try to make sure that it is not monotonous but that there are modulations, as in Italy for example!

The voice is a major instrument of your influence. To optimize it and get the most out of it, listen to yourself, record yourself on the phone, record yourself as much as possible, and listen to your voice. People often say, “I listened to myself again, it's awful! ”. Work on it because it's your first tool for collaborating, cooperating, and getting your ideas across, so don't think it's a small detail. Your voice says a lot about you, your influence, and your competence.

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Key n° 4: take care of your “non-verbal” during a work meeting

Beyond the voice, and speaking, think also of all the non-verbal part. What do you say with your body when you are talking? Is it consistent?

Do you look at people when you talk? If you talk without looking at them, you could be implicitly showing that you are not interested in them or that you are embarrassed or shy.

Someone who is going to speak completely avachi completely loses impact and influence. So, stand up straight like someone who is confident in what they're saying without being arrogant.

Physical posture is extremely important. Uncross your legs when talking to someone because crossing them, as well as your arms, closes your body and insinuates that you are not in the opening. So go down, listen, talk quietly. The hands can move but not too much.

Pay close attention to your non-verbal, whether it is agile and flexible. Not too rigid, not too relaxed. In both cases, this means that you are not super comfortable.

Key 5: Adapt your words to the people present during the meeting

Finally, your influence also and above all comes from your ability to adapt your words to people and situations. That is, you can have ideas, but the important thing is to share them with the people around you. It also means being comfortable with disagreement. There is no problem if people disagree with you, it's interesting they are different ideas.

The key is to continue to discuss: “It's interesting we don't have the same point of view, why? How? What do we do with that? Towards what objective? ”.

Adjust yourself to people who are totally against your idea: “It's interesting, you are against it, tell me why? ”. Be flexible and above all, adapt your speech, your vocabulary, your way of seeing things to the people in front of you.

You don't talk to 9-year-old kids and leaders the same way. Adjust your perspective, language and vocabulary complexity to the people in front of you. Some experts use words that are so complicated that they completely lose influence because no one understands what they are talking about.

Adjust your vocabulary to each other and don't ask the other person to understand your vocabulary.

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The key to influence a work meeting is not to try to convince, you have to deal with it.

Ensuring adherence means: “Does the other person hear me, follow me, look at me? Do I also hear, am, look at the other person? ”.

Influence is a dance, neither too tight nor too loose, but it is the art of being both listening and convincing. Ask your ideas, listen and move forward towards a common goal.

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