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3 Jun 2015

How to be prepared for important meetings

Here’s a few things to avoid and master when meeting new people

A lot of people don’t notice the way they sound to others this is simply because their subconscious mind sends multiple messages that they may not pay attention to, which other people can easily sense.
Your choice of words can hurt your credibility without you even realising it.

“People read each other’s intention as soon as they see each other,” says Nick Morgan, author and speech coach of new book ” Power Cues: The Subtle Science of Leading Groups, Persuading Others, and Maximizing Your Personal Impact.” “our brain is programmed to collect signals of friend or enemy, to sense hostility or violence, also to figure out who is a true leader.”
The question is what messages or signals are you sending? Below are a few common ways you can hurt your reputation at your workplace without even realising or knowing it:

Under preparing For Meetings

When getting set for an important meeting, how much time do you spend contemplating on what you are going to say as compared to the way you intend to convey your points with your body language? Nearly all professionals invest 0% (zero percent) of their time on the second option, says Morgan, which can greatly undermine their professionalism.
“Every conversation there is another conversation making it 2 conversations— they are message proper and body language,” he states that. “When these are not aligned correctly, body language generally outshine message.” If you don’t take cognizance of the 2nd conversation, you might have completed all your research but come into a meeting speaking in monotone, slouched over and expressing weakness. Your colleagues will most likely give emphasis more on your lack of enthusiasm than the ideas you present.

Head Posture

You can actually convince or lose the attention of your co-workers in the first 30 seconds of your meeting with them, says Morgan, simply by holding yourself. An example of the worst body postures is head posture, the head pushed forward with shoulders rounded. It’s prevalent in people who devote lots of time in front of a computer, however it signals weakness to those around you.
“If your head is bowed over a smartphone, or you have got a lot on your mind and your head is inclined forward, you look depressed to be there,” Morgan says.

Leaning Back In Conversations

Most active adults know how best to control their looks in order to easily portray a relaxed, interested appearance, says Morgan. In spite of this, true feelings “leak out” in people’s micro-expressions. “The body has a tendency to effectuate our involuntary demands,” he says. And a lot of people are really good at detecting these signals or impulses in others.
One of the notable ways you signal to your colleagues or boss that you are bored, irritated, or generally intolerant is by leaning back instead of get fully involved in conversation. In the same way, placing your feet far away from the person you’re conversing with towards the door implies that you want a break.

Not Regulating The Tone Of Voice

“We completely undermine the potency of the voice,” says Morgan. Those that have vibrant, rich voices sound more authoritative and are likely to become the leaders of a group. Meanwhile, he claims a thin, nasal voice is less compelling and mostly undesirable.
Many industry experts don’t even consider their voices and haven’t been properly trained how to control them. A stressful circumstance, for example a crucial presentation or business meeting, triggers people to propel their voices beyond the borders of their natural vocal range, making it sounds thin and weak. Most women always shoot up high, while men generally go too low, he maintains. Sitting or standing up-right, taking deep breaths, and allowing your voice rise with excitement and drop with authority help create what He (Morgan) refers to as a “leadership voice.”

Rambling

Another way people hurt their credibility, is not telling decent stories. Research reveals that good storytelling is effective in enhancing credibility. It brings about expectancy in the listener and truly synchronizes people’s intelligence.
Regrettably, many people are terrible story tellers, Morgan stressed. They ramble; provide way too much detail in a confused or inconsequential manner, rather than deciding on the best time to commence the story. “People greatly overestimate how entertaining they are,” he says. Remarkable stories include conflict, survival etc., grip the listener at the very beginning, and are stripped down to the main content


Sheila Woods

Posted by: Sheila Woods

A very experienced migration agent, Sheila has always been fascinated by this field. Her university degree thesis was on Australia’s post-war immigration history (and it earned her first-class honours).


Filed in: Visas

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