Career killers – Meeting fatigue
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Depending on your role, you may need to spend a lot of time in meetings. The question is, if you do – does your body language show how many meetings you go to?
When your working week includes numerous meetings (some of which may not be very productive) it’s very easy to become bored, disengaged, quiet and non-contributing. And while many people may empathise with that, the problem is that these bad signals can be a hindrance to your career.
The key is to start to think about meetings in a different way, and find a way to start enjoying them. Here are seven quick tips –
As an experiment this week, pick a few meetings and try out a tip. Can you use meetings positively for your career?
When your working week includes numerous meetings (some of which may not be very productive) it’s very easy to become bored, disengaged, quiet and non-contributing. And while many people may empathise with that, the problem is that these bad signals can be a hindrance to your career.
The key is to start to think about meetings in a different way, and find a way to start enjoying them. Here are seven quick tips –
- Prepare for the meeting. Meetings are much easier and more interesting when you are there and engaged from the start. And it builds a reputation for being organised and on top of your game, when you have everything neatly filed and accessible.
- Arrive early. Manage your diary so that instead of being back-to-back and running late – which leads to feeling harassed – schedule time so you can arrive early, help set up and speak with the other participants in a relaxed way. Rushing in at the last minute looking frazzled doesn’t create the impression that you have spare capacity for a bigger role!
- Help with the organisation. If one isn’t provided, ask for an agenda by talking to the meeting organiser and finding out what they’re trying to cover. This will help keep meetings targeted and often shorter! And will establish you as someone who is keen to participate and use time effectively to generate a result.
- Offer to take the minutes. This reflects well on you as a participant. Having a task to do will keep your attention – and give you a reason to be visible by summarising the action points and querying anything that is unclear. A great tactic for meetings where you might not otherwise have much to contribute.
- Ask some questions. Even if you have nothing to say, ask questions of the other participants to draw them into the conversation and to encourage a variety of opinions. You can ‘chair from the floor’ quite effectively, in a quiet way.
- Comment on interesting points. If you think someone has said something useful, new or interesting – make that point. People appreciate positive feedback and support, especially in forums like meetings. And a quick positive summary really helps the flow of the conversation.
- Stop attending so many meetings. Look at the meetings you’ve attended in the past – if you’re not deeply involved why are you there? If you find you’re getting little benefit from or adding little value to a meeting, is there any way you can be excused in the future?
As an experiment this week, pick a few meetings and try out a tip. Can you use meetings positively for your career?