Tips For Keeping Calm During Meetings
Posted By on April 23, 2010
Unfortunately, everyone has to attend meetings which they know will be stressful, and once you’re in throes of the meeting it can be difficult to keep your cool. However it is often vital that you do remain calm, so that everyone gets the most out of the meeting, and with this in mind here are some tips which I find useful.
Getting yourself into a calm state before the meeting is one of the best ways to have a successful meeting, as if you go in harassed it’s unlikely you will calm down. It can be difficult to get calm prior to a meeting if its late in the day, but some practices which might help are arriving in plenty of time, taking a break for five minutes beforehand to refresh yourself, or have a quick bout of meditation.
Another valuable thing you can do before the meeting is make sure you are not hungry or thirsty. If you’re behaviour is anything like mine the more hungry you get the more likely you are to get cross, so ensure you’re nice and full so that hunger pangs or thirst don’t add to your troubles.
Now you know what you’re doing before the meeting, but how do you stay calm during? Probably the most important thing you can do is listen, and when you’re not listening, remind yourself to. By listening carefully (and quietly) to what others say even if you think it’s completely wrong, it means you force yourself to focus on understanding their argument fully , gives you time to calm down allows you to appear professional and collected.
Once whoever is speaking has finished you can then make your counter argument or raise the issues you have, but make sure this is done in a calm tone. Speak at a good volume, slowly and clearly as this will make what you’re saying more valid, meaning others present should listen more carefully. This will also reduce the likelihood of interruptions-meaning you have less to contend with and so are more likely to keep your cool.
Adhering to the above tips should help you enter a meeting in a calm state, and remain calm throughout. If that fails just laugh inside to yourself at other people’s ridiculous ideas whilst rising above it- it often works for me!
Now you’ve learnt how to keep your cool, why not have your next meeting outside of the office at one of theCheshire meeting rooms Mere have to offer. We can also take care of other corporate functions and our venue makes a great corporate dinner venue.