When going into a meeting, a little prep goes a long way.
Imagine going into a meeting knowing nothing and winging it. That happens to be fine if you’re a master at winging it or a master at the subject at hand. (Or if you’re a certain type of boss.)
I’ve recommended in previous chapters that you should plan for meetings by sending out agendas.
But what happens when you’re not the one in charge of the meeting and you can’t do that?
Or maybe you do that, but just sending out an agenda for a meeting isn’t enough?
One practice I follow is by doing a brief prep before any meeting, except for those in which I know the details inside out by heart. For all others, just three minutes of prep goes a long way.
In the three minutes, here are some things I look up that I find helpful more often than not:
- If it’s someone I don’t know, I make sure I remember their name, job title, and I glance at their LinkedIn. While LinkedIn is a very imperfect summary of who someone is (in a work context) and how he works, LinkedIn profiles give you the right general contours. You can see if they’re over-educated, under-educated, or correspondingly-educated. You can see if they’re about your age, about 15 years older, or about 15 years younger. You can see if they have a penchant for using big fancy words or for speaking plainly and directly. While the person you meet in the meeting will be a unique, individual human being, very different from the person whom he tries to represent on LinkedIn, it will give you some guidance, so you’re not surprised.
- If the meeting may likely involve some numbers, look those numbers up beforehand so they’re on the tip of your tongue. For the primary, key numbers definitely. But even for some secondary numbers that may come up. Why is this important? For a few reasons. First, you don’t want to waste time in the meeting trying to look up numbers in real-time. Secondly, if you know the numbers off the top of your head, your boss or client will truly think you’re mastering the details of the subject (which, hopefully, you are.)
- Write up any questions you may have. You may not have defined the agenda, but if it is a call with a prospect, for example, having a few questions you’d like his thoughts on ready to go will make things easier and smoother, particularly in a quiet patch during the meeting.
If you’re going to do all of these, you may need more than 3 minutes. 15 minutes may be more realistic for all, particularly if you’re not a speed reader. This reminds us of a reason why meetings must be managed carefully: having an effective meeting ends up taking much more time than the hour or so scheduled. Commute time (at least in the old world there was.) Preparing an agenda beforehand. These 3 to 15 minutes of prep beforehand, too. Writing up meeting notes afterward. Full-focus intensity during the meeting—that’s perhaps the most important! Doing a meeting well requires a real commitment. So, don’t take meetings lightly. Do meetings fully… or if not, pass on them. A good meeting is invaluable, while bullshit meetings have no value.
