Fright and numbness during the next meeting are terrible feelings. Pull yourself together — it shouldn’t be like this. You can take control of everything and give up the habit of sitting in silence.
Being visible at work is very important if you want career advancement. You work hard and you have great ideas — so you have to be more influential and you deserve recognition.
After a little practice, you will finally feel like an integral member of the team (which you already are).
Well, if you do not have enough positive emotions and work takes all the time, then visit the online casino and have fun at home.
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Embrace the Excitement
My hands are shaking. There are somersaults in the stomach. You suddenly begin to doubt whether you have spelled the client’s name correctly on the agenda.
This is the usual excitement on the eve of the meeting. This is the normal stress of anticipation when you think that the audience will evaluate your intelligence or your contribution to the work.
Stanford psychologist Kelly McGonigal does not consider such nervousness a sign that you are inadequate or not coping with the task.
Read also: Don’t Possess Interpersonal Skills? Ways to Develop Interpersonal Skills To Get Shortlisted
She suggests making friends with your stress response, rethinking it, and seeing it as a sign that you are ready to act and make every effort.
It is also important to reduce the baseline level of stimulation before the meeting. Allison, the client I told you about earlier, used the “square breathing” technique to calm down.
Dive Smoothly
There is a temptation to arrive right at the beginning of the meeting to show that you are in a hurry, or to avoid awkward small talk.
But feeling in a hurry or running out of time will only exacerbate the existing stress that you are experiencing.
Instead, build a buffer: plan to dive into the meeting before it starts. Give yourself the opportunity to get used to the hall.
If this is a virtual teleconference, study the webinar controls in advance, and set up a microphone and a webcam.
As colleagues appear, talk to one or two of them, which is useful in general and helps to reduce tension.
You also need to give an introductory speech at the beginning of the meeting, and then the conversation will move on to the agenda. This will help reduce anxiety and make communication more organic.
Speak as Early as Possible
Have you ever come to a meeting with ideas and a plan of what you want to say, and then left, realizing that you were silent all the time? Silence does you a disservice.
The longer the meeting lasts, the more difficult it usually becomes to engage in conversation. The longer you wait, the more your anxiety increases.
Growth often happens due to discomfort, so force yourself to speak as early as possible. Set yourself a simple task: say something in the first 10-15 minutes — to greet the participants, formulate the main idea, ask a question, or express an opinion about a new business proposal. This is a sure way not to be left out of the discussion.
Use Your Strengths
You don’t have to be the loudest person in the meeting. Even quietly speaking to sensitive employees can have an impact by supporting a colleague’s comment with a simple phrase: “Great idea! I think it will work.”
You can also concentrate on asking important questions. Sensitive employees are very observant, which prompts them acute questions that have not yet occurred to colleagues.
Another effective way to strengthen influence even after the meeting is over is to send an email to the boss in which you summarize the important issues raised or, even better, propose a new project that has arisen as a result of the discussion.
You will earn a reputation as a person who benefits, and you are more likely to be remembered when the question of promotion arises. More importantly, you will gain self-confidence.
Be the First to Act
Did an idea arise during the meeting that requires additional research? Do it by the next meeting. This will show your initiative and interest.
And this allows you to push yourself to the desired behavior. You have committed — now you will have more motivation.
