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We’ve all been there – in a busy meeting – with people talking over each other, everyone eager to get their voice heard. We know we have something important to contribute, and yet we can’t seem to find a gap in the noise to get our message across. And by the time we see a window of opportunity the subject has changed, and we’ve missed our chance. It’s difficult sometimes to get ourselves noticed in a room, even with colleagues we know well.
This situation is vastly compounded if you find yourself in a situation where you are attending a hybrid meeting remotely and most of the other team members are meeting in-person. Hybrid meetings tend to have less flow anyway, and for this reason, having a strong chairperson can be crucial for ensuing everyone feels included. However, in our experience this often isn’t the case.
So, in this blog we’ are going to share 5 simple but effective techniques to make sure you too have a strong voice at the table, or from behind the screen, and can get you message across in an impactful and timely way.
Getting your message across in 5 steps
Step 1: Increase your presence
If you are sitting at a table then make your physical presence felt by adjusting your pose and use open positive body language. Take a breath, lean forward, and place your forearms on the table with open palms. Increase your eye connection and then speak.
If you are standing in a group the principles are the same, but you can introduce movement to help create punctuation to the discussion. Breath in, take a step forward, bend your arms at the elbows so that your forearms are parallel to the floor and raise your palms upwards. Increase your eye contact and then speak.
If you are attending the meeting remotely make sure the technology is working properly. Sounds obvious, but you’d be surprised how easy it is to get caught out. Try to contribute to the meeting early on so that your presence is felt. Emulate the same techniques as above to draw attention to yourself; so lean slightly forward to the camera, open your body language – remembering to keep your gestures within the screen frame, increase your eye connection by looking at the lens, and then speak.
You can also use the ‘raise hand’ function to draw people’s attention to you, but often this is only really effective when you have a strong chairperson who is monitoring those that are dialled into the meeting,
Step 2: Use people’s names and add siren words
Using people’s names is a great way of breaking into a conversation. It also creates a connection with the person who’s just been speaking.
Then use Siren Words to lead into your message. Importantly, Siren Words don’t actually communicate the message, but they are a great technique to gain people’s attention so they don’t miss out on the important thing you want to say. As well as getting the group’s attention, they create a sense of anticipation for the message you’re about to land.
Here are some examples of using people’s name and adding Siren Words:
- “Sarah, I agree with what we’re saying, though I believe there’s an issue that we still need to consider.”
- “John, based on my analysis my perspective is a bit different; can I share it with you?”
- “Alex, before we move onto the next topic, I do have one point I’d like to make.”
- “Sorry to jump in but I would like to add to Lee’s thinking if I may.”
Step 3: Get your listeners hooked
In addition to using Siren Words, you can also add a Hook to help engage your listeners and get them open to what you’re going to say. This might be reminding everyone of the group’s goal, objective or desired outcome before you go into the detail of your idea, opinion or recommendation.
Again here are some examples:
- (Name + Siren) “Sarah, I agree with what we’re saying, though I think there’s an issue that we still need to consider.
(Hook) Because we know our goal is to be the #1 insurance provider, I believe … - (Name + Siren) “John, based on my analysis my perspective is a bit
different; can I share it with you?
(Hook) Given that our key objective is to target people who have multiple insurance needs, I think… - (Name + Siren) “Alex, before we move onto the next topic, I do have one point I’d like to make.
(Hook) We already know how many customers migrate from motor insurance to contents policies, so…
(Name + Siren) “Sorry to jump in but I would like to add to Lee’s thinking if I may.
(Hook) Our goal is to work better as a team, right? Well, in which case, I feel…
Step 4: deliver your message with impact
Adding a Punch simply means using language that makes a message more impactful, memorable, or engaging.
- (Name + Siren) “Sarah, I agree with what we’re saying, but I think there’s an issue that we still need to consider.
(Hook) Because we know our goal is to be the #1 insurance provider for our core target, I believe …
(Punch) it’s imperative that we incentivise potential customers much earlier in the renewal process.” - (Name + Siren) “John, based on my analysis my perspective is a bit
different; can I share it with you?
(Hook) Given that our key objective is to target people who have multiple insurance needs, I think…
(Punch) it’s essential that we consider (rather than I think we should consider) creating partnerships with independent driving schools, as this is likely to be the first insurance need amongst our target audience .” - (Name + Siren) “Alex, before we move onto the next topic, I do have one point I’d like to make.
(Hook) “We already know how many customers migrate from motor insurance to contents policies, so…
(Punch) it’s crucial that our second policy discount offer is introduced early on in the customer journey.” - (Name + Siren) “Sorry to jump in but I would like to add to Lee’s thinking if I may.
(Hook) Our goal is to work better as a team, right? Well, in which case, I feel…
(Punch) it would be extremely valuable for us to schedule regular social events to that we can get to know each other personally as well as professionally.”
Step 5: Consider using open language to ‘frame’ your point
Open language is the term used for inclusive communication that helps to create collaborative discussions. Here are a few examples:
- “What I’m wondering is…”
- “In my view the data indicates that…”
- “Would it be worthwhile looking at…”
- “Perhaps we should consider…”
- “Have you thought about…”
- “It occurs to me that maybe we should…”
- “Would it be possible to…”
You can also caveat your point e.g.
- “I haven’t finished all the analysis yet, however…”
- “My initial thoughts are…”
- “I’m shooting from the hip here, but …”
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Be Prepared!
Of course, the best way to ensure you have something to say is to prepare for meetings in advance. Think about each agenda point and what you can bring to the discussion AND what you need to get out of it. For some expert tips on how to get the most out of meetings – in person, hybrid and remote – check out this recent blog.
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Belinda is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of SecondNature International. With a determination to drive a paradigm shift in the delivery of presentation skills training both In-Person and Online, she is a strong advocate of a more personal and sustainable presentation skills training methodology.
Belinda believes that people don’t have to change who they are to be the presenter they want to be. So she developed a coaching approach that harnesses people’s unique personality to build their own authentic presentation style and personal brand.
She has helped to transform the presentation skills of people around the world in an A-Z of organisations including Amazon, BBC, Brother, BT, CocaCola, DHL, EE, ESRI, IpsosMORI, Heineken, MARS Inc., Moody’s, Moonpig, Nationwide, Pfizer, Publicis Groupe, Roche, Savills, Triumph and Walmart – to name just a few.