"Peek Through Open Dawes" - 4: Meeting Voice

Video 4: Apology & Meeting Voice

Open Dawes Training are delighted to be releasing a sequence of videos that provide tips/advice in their own right, but also an insight into the content, objectives, and psychology we use in our Public Speaking, Presentation Skills, and Media Training services.

Whilst this video starts as an apology for the hectic schedule this week at Open Dawes Training not allowing time for a formal "Peek Through Open Dawes" video, we are able to touch briefly on a subject that will be delved into in more detail in due course, but had been requested recently. Having the confidence to speak up in public is not just vital for standing up and giving presentations or speeches, or media requirements, but is also massively important to providing effective presence and communication in meetings. This is not only important for you, but also the other members of the meeting, and the organisation(s) the meeting impacts. Everyone is in that meeting for a reason, and have their own expertise, experience, and ongoing exposure to add to the discussion. If you keep your knowledge and point of view to yourself, then those vital assets can never influence the decisions made within that meeting.

It is understandable that many will feel that if they speak up it could lead to disagreement, or your input being discredited; but this is how we learn, decide, and innovate! If someone disagrees with information, then they are either able to educate others with their knowledge or experience; and if you disagree, it could be you who is educating them. Bosses questioning you are not (usually) trying to discredit you, but haven't fully understood yet, or have information that you may not have been aware of, or considered, previously when putting the information together. After all, when did a meeting consist purely of everyone sitting down, one person stating something, and then everyone nodding, smiling, agreeing, and ending the meeting straight away? It is about bringing together the deliberately sourced, invested in, and nurtured skills and knowledge sets, to help the organisation(s)/individuals to reach a mutually productive/beneficial conclusion.

The key messages for effective presence & communication in meetings that we include in our training include:

  • Have Value and belief in your ideas
  • Speak up with Conviction not hesitation
  • Accept disagreements are inevitable, and useful
  • Listen as well as speak
  • Choose and prepare your input ahead of the meeting if possible
  • Don't give away your power to hierarchy; your input is valued

Other tips include things such as speaking early, and setting yourself a minimum number of times you will speak in the meeting as a fun way to motivate you to speak up.

You can follow the link to the Peek Through Open Dawes YouTube Playlist, and subscribe to receive notifications of the latest videos in the playlist.

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