3 Short, Powerful Meeting Practices

There are some simple business practices that will make your business meetings more comfortable and more productive.

Think of your surroundings. Save your elevator pitch for nearly any place but the elevator.  People are confined and often feel awkward in elevators.  Also, there is a risk that someone could walk in on your pitch.  You never want to discuss your client’s business in front of strangers.

Wait until you step out of the elevator and start your presentation with a question that will focus attention on your pitch.

Carry a pen and paper to every business meeting.  Nearly everyone takes notes on a laptop or cell phone.  This skill is effective for safely and conveniently saving your notes.  The skill is also efficient.  However, when you get an idea during a meeting and want to press a point that is not included in a prepared presentation, passing your electronic device around at a meeting or across a table at a business lunch is probably not in your best interest.

Learn the art of the pen and paper presentation.  Sometimes abandoning your prepared presentation may be more effective than sticking to it.  A simple note on a piece of paper may be very powerful  I know doctors who explain complicated conditions by turning over pages of lab results and jotting a few notes for patients to see what the results mean.

In my own career, I have saved countless sales for advertising support and product purchases by using the same method of writing a few facts and figures down in front of the buyer to help the person understand what I was saying.