AuthenticMatters

Pre-Meeting Prep

Let’s talk about meetings! (Control your excitement.) Everyone’s done ‘em. No one loves them. One aspect of meetings that often goes overlooked is the pre-meeting prep. We’re not talking final touches on the deck or talking points or secret head nods that are supposed to indicate input moments. 

We’re talking basics…

• Don’t have a ton of crap in your hands. Walking into an office or a meeting juggling coffee, a laptop, a jacket, a scarf while trying to remove your gloves not only gives off a less-than-stellar first impression, but it also causes physical repercussions. You’re going to get flustered. And that’ll all have a direct impact on how you operate in the meeting. Minimize your accoutrements. 
• If you’ve got some distance to walk from, say, the subway station to the meeting, mind your pace. If you speed-walk, your body temperature is going to catch up with you right about when you’re sitting down. And you’ll get hot. Getting hot equals that lovable body response: sweating. Sweating implies nervousness.  You get the idea. Pace yourself. Better yet, get where you’re going early. (Or, when you have to make that walk, take off your jacket. You’d rather be cold in transit, than sweaty in the meeting.)
• Be charged. It sort of goes without saying, but if you’re meeting involves some tech (i.e., a laptop, iPad, etc.) be fully powered. Having to crawl under a conference table to find an outlet or stringing it across where people walk is lame. Bottom line: get powered up well in advance.
• Eat something clean. Just this morning, I was hanging out at a McDonald’s before a meeting  (Not my choice.) While I was hungry, I knew slugging down an egg McMuffin wasn’t the right call. Not only are they bad for you, but they hang around long after you’ve consumed them. It’s not what you’re thinking. Let me explain. Egg McMuffin-ness just seems to stay with you. It’s a hand food, so there’s a good chance your hands will “feel” like egg McMuffin.  And for those of us who have awesome auburn beards, you’ll “taste” it. However, every meeting requires fuel. So do it the right way: oatmeal, yogurt, fruit… clean foods! (Did I really just refer to my beard as “auburn?” Woah.)
• Know something. Not about the meeting or the company (although that’s pretty important), but the person/people you’re meeting with. It feels sort of Michael Scott-ish, but having something to talk about besides work goes a long way. I just talked about BASE jumping in south central West Virginia with a guy who loves skydiving. Next thing you know, we’re watching videos of his dives. And information like that is EVERYWHERE. AND IT’S SELF-VOLUNTEERED. 

Just a few basics. What else goes on the list?