Zack Rippy

Throughout my relatively short career, I have had to sit in on a decent number of conference calls and meetings. Many of them are at least somewhat technical in nature. I have observed many “dos and don’ts” of these kinds of meetings.

• Don’t over-speak. When you are in a meeting of peers or superiors, no one is going to be impressed with your knowledge of the topic at hand. If you can give a brief, concise answer, then do it.
• When the people who can answer a question are present, don’t throw out your thoughts on how you think something will work. Let the people who actually have the answer present the answer. Assumptions and educated guesses have no value when they are completely unnecessary.
• Don’t throw out negative statements about something unless you can back them up with absolute certainty. If you’re challenged on your assertions and you end up being wrong, you lose credibility.
• Chances are good that you were invited to speak to a very specific subject, so don’t offer your opinion on everything that is mentioned.
• If you’re not an authority or at least informed on a subject at hand, don’t continually say “Yes,” “Uh-huh,” or continually nod in agreement or disagreement with what is being said. You simply end up looking over-eager to impress people.
• Don’t cut people off or be aggressive with your opinions. Even if what is being proposed is incorrect, let the other participants finish their point(s).
• People don’t like long meetings. If what you have to say does not directly advance the agenda of the meeting/call, then say it later off-line.
• Unless you’re the leader of the meeting, simply sit there, take notes and offer your opinion/suggestions when warranted or asked. One of the most brilliant people I have ever met is virtually silent in meetings, while less-experienced co-workers “take over,” ramble incessantly and make themselves look desperate to show off their knowledge.
• Be prepared and bring the facts to the table. People that come well-prepared don’t have to stumble and say, “I’ll get back to you on that.” You’re in a meeting to discuss something; come ready and informed.
• On the other hand, there is nothing wrong with saying, “I don’t know.” If you honestly don’t have an answer or something is thrust on you unexpectedly, it is much better to just be sincere and tell everyone that you did not come ready to address that issue, but that you can get the answer and will do so as soon as possible. That is greatly preferred to trying to fake your way through it.
• Speak clearly and without rambling. Be precise and deliberate with your words.
• Don’t be the person that gives all the reasons something cannot be done. Be the person that explains how you can overcome the obstacles to make it happen. Bring solutions, not reasons and excuses.
• Finally, listen more than you talk.

Certainly, this is far from an exhaustive list. It’s just a few pointers that I’ve gathered from watching/listening to very good and very bad participants over the years.

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 22nd, 2007 at 7:50 pm and is filed under Commentary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.