Talk Your Way to the Top: How to Address Any Audience Like Your Career Depends On It

Do:

• Start when you said you would. Don’t punish the punctual.

• Establish the meeting’s purpose. Communicate it to all. Let the purpose statement be your roadmap.

• Tell attendees what is expected of them and why. They are responsible, too.

• Time each segment. Appoint a timekeeper. Work within the timing guidelines.

• Conclude the meeting by wrapping up professionally so that participants know what they have accomplished and what they are expected to do next.

Don’t:

• Open with a joke; they often fail. (And what a hole to dig out of!)

• Invite even one unnecessary person. Everyone should have a role and a responsibility.

• Hold a meeting without every attendee understanding his or her specific role and the meeting’s purpose.

• End a meeting late. You blow it all if you run over the time scheduled for the meeting to end. Professionals finish on time.