Five Secrets to Shorten Your Business Meeting and Get Your Recommendations Approved
Have you ever wondered why some people can go into an important business meeting and get their agenda or recommendations approved quickly and easily, while you can barely get the person or team you’re interacting with to take notice of your ideas? Likely, the difference is not in the actual recommendation you are making. Rather, it’s you and how you’re approaching the meeting. That’s right. If you want to get your recommendations approved in 10 minutes or less, you must approach the meeting and the decision makers you’re talking with properly and on their level.
Here are some secrets to remember when pitching your recommendations:
- Have a clear focus. Too many people walk into meetings not focused on the end result. Rather, they treat the meeting like a casual conversation, which tells the decision maker that you’re not really that serious about your ideas. Always have a clear focus on the problem you are addressing and why your solution is the best choice.
- Know the goals of the manager or executive you’re interacting with. Often, there’s a disconnect between what the decision maker wants and what the presenter wants. Therefore, always tie your solution back to what’s important to the other person.
- Think big picture. Most decision makers are looking at the big picture, and you must too. Don’t be so detail oriented in your recommendation. Rather, spend your time giving an overview, complete with value statements. Often, as a result of having too much detail, many people tend to forget to give the high level viewpoint that decision makers need.
- Understand the mindset of executives. These people tend to decide intuitively. By nature, they are impatient. They focus their decision making on the company’s vision and goals. These people challenge conventional wisdom at times. They look for opportunities to reduce costs and increase profitability. Therefore, they want you to come in and consider aspects that would be inside and outside the box of the potential recommendation. They want you to project short and long-term results. They want you to come in with solutions that can improve both the company’s goals and the goals of the team, group, division, etc.
- Display confidence. How you physically deliver your information has a direct impact on your ability to get your recommendation approved. Make eye contact frequently. Be physically open. Your body language demonstrates whether you feel confident or hesitant about your recommendation.
Looking for more tips on how to conduct an effective business meeting? Check out our communication skills training program, Shorten Meetings. Get Executive Approval.