How to sound smart in meetings

Career Growth | LinkedIn | Management & Leadership

April 16, 2020

I love meetings. Said nobody ever. What’s worse than going to a meeting? That could have been an email going to a meeting with all the senior leadership in your organization where you’re expected to sound brilliant the whole time. So what do you do when you feel your own insecurity setting in ahead of a big important meeting? Keep reading because I’m going to share my best tips for sounding smart in meetings.

Does the idea of speaking up at the meeting make you feel a little queasy? You’re a smart person. Yet, does it feel like the moment you open your mouth at a meeting, all your brilliance goes out the window with your ability to form coherent sentences? It can be intimidating to be in a room full of people you respect, presenting and persuading your ideas and your vision, but sounding smart in your next meeting doesn’t have to be a stomach churning event. I’m going to break down all the prep work you need to do and what you should do during the meeting to sound polished, professional, and smart, in your next meeting.

Phase One: Meeting Preparation.

Step #1: Review materials.

Review the minutes from the previous meeting and ensure your dues are complete.

Step #2: Review the agenda and prepare your talking points.

To master this step, you’ll want to read the upcoming agenda and prepare to persuade or present on important topics and you’ll want to come prepared with an idea, opinion, or thought about the ideas on the agenda. Doing this type of legwork ahead of a meeting, will set you up to make important points in a concise and intelligent way.

Step #3: Know your audience.

Know the stakeholders and the key people attending the meeting so you know where you stand in the meeting and how best to approach the topics, who the stakeholders are and who you might need update after the fact.

Phase Two: During the Meeting.

Step #1: Engage in the meeting within the first 10 minutes.

What does that look like? Ask for others’ opinions, get clarification on others’ thoughts and opinions and share your ideas with others. Actively contribute to the discussion.

Step #2: Use the acronym L.I.V. (listen, interpret and validate).

Listen to what’s being said and discussed, interpret the ideas in your own words and whether you understand and have clarity around the main points and discussion items. A sample of the words you might say are, here’s what I’m hearing you say, and then reiterating whatever it is you interpreted the person to be saying. Or you could say something like, if I’m understanding correctly, this is how what you’re saying applies to my team or department, yada, yada, yada.

Try those phrases at your next meeting to sound smart and remember the acronym L. I. V. “live”

Step #3: Read the room appropriately. Choose your battles wisely and understand your role in the meeting.

In every meeting you may have a different role. Sometimes you’re the advisor, sometimes you’re a decision maker and sometimes you’re just there to report back data. Knowing which of these roles you play is important before speaking up and speaking out.

Step #4: Keep it simple. Be a translator of complex ideas.

It’s a little known fact that using big words for the sake of big words just makes you look arrogant and insecure. The smartest people are adept at taking complex ideas and making them simple for everyone in the room to understand. In other words, don’t be the philosopher, be the teacher.

Step #5: Review the meeting action items and prioritize them for the next meeting.

Before the end of the meeting you want to be sure you’re taking time to review what your action items and prioritize them by the level of importance so you know what’s at stake, who the stakeholders are and what information, if any, needs to be collected and what expectations there are for you and your team. Taking time to clarify your action items helps to establish you as an authority leader and owner of your role, responsibilities and team.

Are you feeling like a master of your own destiny now? Great. Let’s talk about one of the easiest ways to digitally display your professional confidence that you’re probably overlooking. It’s LinkedIn. When was the last time you logged in and actually updated your profile? Do you need some help? Hey, you can get my candid and honest feedback on your LinkedIn profile. For the month of April, I’m offering a 20% discount on one of my most popular services called the Ambition Audit. If you’re looking to level up your LinkedIn profile, get more details in the link below and use the code “YouTube” to get 20% off the ambition audit.

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Hi, I’m Jessica

As an internationally recognized legal marketer and law firm executive, Jessica has spent her career helping attorneys pitch their services and their resumes to some of the largest global companies and CEOs in the world. Her specialty: Helping smart professionals be unforgettably hire-able. Whether you are seeking your first job or a career change, Jessica empowers you step-by-step. Execute simple, yet practical and actionable tasks to get your resume past the stack and into the hands of your next manager.