Success Advice
5 Simple Ways to Own The Room Even If You’re Less Experienced
I’ll be honest, I have never sold a business I started for more than $10 million. But, I recently walked into a meeting with a group of six entrepreneurs, and at least three of them had already done it. Two of the other people in attendance were wildly successful creators.
The sixth member of the group was a business peer – and I felt most at ease with him being there. I was invited to lead the meeting based on my business and legal expertise, and generally speaking, I felt a little out of my league.
The insecure thoughts started rolling through my mind. I’ve been in this situation countless times, so I flipped the switch and went to work. Unfortunately, I’ve seen many others fall flat at the opening. So how do you own a room when you’re less experienced or less qualified than everyone else?
Here are 5 ways to own the room no matter what:
1. Make everyone feel comfortable, including yourself
If you’ve ever heard a great speaker, chances are you heard them open with a humorous or meaningful story. Stories bring us together and they highlight our collective need to participate. One of the first things you can (and should) do when you walk into a room to lead a meeting is make everyone feel comfortable. Equally important is making yourself feel comfortable.
Depending on the context, start with a story. Something simple that breaks the ice, or something deeper and more meaningful, if the attendees can benefit from the analogy you’ll inevitably make. And make sure the topic is easily within mental reach – no note cards necessary. By breaking the ice with a story, you’ll automatically feel more comfortable and you’ll also give everyone in the room a reason to relax.
“What we say is important… for in most cases the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” -Jim Beggs
2. Start, proceed, and end strong
In filmmaking and in music, we are typically led down a path of increased tension towards a crescendo, which then tapers off into a relaxed exit. In business meetings, you need to do the opposite. You need to start strong, proceed strong, and end strong. Each beat of a meeting needs to have meaningful impact on the purpose of the meeting. If not, your attendees will become disinterested, bored, and possibly even angry.
Prepare for a meeting by viewing it in three segments; your opening, the middle, and the closing. Each segment needs to propel the purpose of the meeting forward. When you structure your meeting this way, you also communicate confidence and control, as you know exactly where you’re going from start to finish.
3. Involve the experts
One of the easiest ways to enhance your own credibility is to establish non-obvious rapport with other experts in the room. This particular skill might take some time to develop, but it’s worth its weight in gold once you’ve mastered it.
I’m not a tax expert, so if there’s ever a meeting I’m running and a tax expert is in attendance, I’ll intentionally question something I already know by asking the tax expert to confirm that my perspective is correct.
Sure, this tactic can backfire if you ask open-ended questions which invite a narrative by the “expert,” but if you narrow the scope of your interaction primarily to reinforce what you’ve already said, you’ll be viewed as having a broader base of knowledge – with enough confidence to ask someone else for input. You’ll also gain positive nods from the other experts in the room, enhancing nonverbal support for your leadership throughout the room.
4. Respect time
One of the absolute worst things you can do when leading a room is wasting or controlling everyone’s time. If the meeting was scheduled for one hour, don’t go a minute longer – unless you’re specifically requested to do so. There’s no quicker way to destroy your credibility than proving that you’re not capable of leading within the constraints of the schedule.
I don’t know how many times I’ve been in meetings that were finished in half the time scheduled, but the person leading the meeting felt compelled to “take the hour.” If you scheduled an hour, but only need twenty minutes, stop at twenty minutes. If you scheduled twenty minutes, but needed an hour, reschedule or add another meeting to the schedule.
Show respect by valuing time. Your room will respect you. This technique also has an ancillary benefit – It gets you in the mode of allocating time properly. The more you work within time constraints, the less they become constraints.
“There are always three speeches, for every one you actually gave. The one you practiced, the one you gave, and the one you wish you gave.” –Dale Carnegie
5. Don’t monologue
The greatest communicators in the world converse, even when they’re the only one talking. This happens on a few levels and with a handful of techniques. Engaging the audience, even in a small meeting, happens by asking questions, making gestures, and evoking emotions. At the end of the day, you don’t want people in your meeting thinking, “when is this person going to shut up?”
Rather, you want them engaged and focused because they want to hear what you have to say. Make people feel like they’re participating in a conversation and they’ll eat up every word you say.
What are some tips you have used to own the room in a meeting or presentation? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below!
Success Advice
Why You Shouldn’t Discount A Brick And Mortar Store In 2025
We’re constantly told about how stores are closing down and how shoppers prefer online options, but is it worth questioning this theory?
In 2024, you’d be forgiven for thinking that physical shopping is a thing of the past. We’re constantly told about how stores are closing down and how shoppers prefer online options. But is it worth questioning this theory? (more…)
Success Advice
How to Alter Your Business Approach With Technological Advancements
Keeping up with technological trends has become a challenge for almost every business owner.
Technology’s evolution has impacted everything, and business is no exception. Keeping up with technological trends has become a challenge for almost every business owner. Entrepreneurs unable to do so are being wiped out of the market.
There is no doubt that AI (Artificial Intelligence) and ML (Machine Learning) have taken over the business world. These technological advancements are impacting decision-making, success percentages, and other entrepreneurial aspects.
Adapting to these developments is integral to business success. Let’s explore how you can accomplish these milestones.
Embed the strength of AI and ML.
AI has modified business operations in major ways. For instance, companies have employed bots for customer support. These bots go through an effective learning process via Machine Learning before being able to answer like humans.
Bots can also perform detailed data analytics and make business moves with high success percentages.
ML is used more for the analysis of data chunks and generating successful predictions. This simply means that business owners do not have to worry about large-scale financial losses.
In terms of deployment and usage, a reputed company like Netflix employs machine learning for decision-making.
Blockchain is increasing the count of business opportunities
Tampering of financial transactions is quite common and causes severe monetary damage to customers. With the rise of digital payments, this risk has increased.
Blockchain is used to elevate your experience for monetary transfers. It combats penetrating events to extract confidential customer information.
Most business sectors are using block chain but finance and supply chain management sections have a higher count. These two corporate sections have several monetary deposits and withdrawals taking place.
In terms of percentage, approximately 72% and 5% of finance and supply chain firms have implemented block chain successfully.
Dedicate Yourself to Continuous Learning and Individual Development
You invest in learning some of the very important skills, including digital marketing, financial management, and how to gain customers as an entrepreneur.
You need to set up your knowledge base about doing business on Coursera and Udemy with the basics that are necessary for the business, building further by networking with experts through webinars.
Besides, Agile methodology will introduce elasticity to your company: this review and feedback system with further correction regularly will allow for enhancing efficiency and promptly reacting to the market.
Developing key skills to achieve goals
Running a business successfully is not only about having niche/domain knowledge. Business owners need to have communication / soft skills as well in addition to niche information.
Here are some key technical/domain-related areas that business owners should have a strong grip on.
Data Storage on Cloud: These days, companies do not store their data on physical servers. Therefore business owners should know how data is stored/edited/removed/updated via AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and other platforms.
Data Analysis/Interpretation Qualities: These days, data is as precious as gold. Business owners with data analysis abilities make correct predictions. As a result, their ventures grow in volume.
Development/Coding Knowledge
Programming knowledge gives business owners an edge whether the application is developed in-house or outsourced. It assists in getting updates deployed and handling application underperformance without getting professional support every time.
Hacking proof framework
There is no benefit of having an advanced automated system if can be penetrated. Successful business owners have above-average knowledge of cyber security and hacking attempts. They are able to choose top-notch anti-hacking software without much of an ambiguity.
Communication Abilities/Soft Skills
Here are some key communication qualities that business owners should have:
Communication/Conversation: Business owners should use to-the-point sentences in both written and oral communication.
Issue Resolution Abilities: Business owners should be able to drill down to problems and solve them. This is done successfully only if an entrepreneur has in-depth business domain knowledge.
Agile Implementations
It is mandatory for business owners to have knowledge of iterative/agile models. With such a competitive environment, it is impossible for business owners to succeed without adopting an agile framework.
Create a productive well-crafted Business Strategy
A productive business venture starts with a clear vision. The first factor making a business successful is the idea behind it. It helps with endless growth and combating competition successfully. Katherine Philips once mentioned that business goals are inevitable if goals are set concretely.
- Goals should be based on smart achievements instead of complexity. Focus on the value that each one of them adds.
- Business objectives should not be vague. Key indicators should be constructed to measure the success/failure of each milestone.
- Be realistic when setting goals. Do not aim at impossible milestones since they can be demotivating.
- Milestones/goals need to be time-bound. Set a completion deadline for each one of them.
- Business goals should not be alien. Owners can think out of the box but not be obsolete / unrelated.
Create a productive well-crafted Business Strategy
Business owners cannot succeed without having a network. Some tips help in this case. Attend conferences and professional gatherings to connect with other entrepreneurs.
Here are some other related points business owners should pay attention to.
- Attend meetings and conferences to stay updated with trends and meet business owners who already have well-set ventures. This helps in enhancing the learning curve of new / growing entrepreneurs.
- Being a part of business communities/groups is very productive. When one shares opinions and discusses decision-making tactics, it helps in preventing errors and enhancing success rate.
- Even the most experienced business owners have mentors as learning never stops. Take part in mentorship programs so there is an assurance that you are following the correct roadmap.
Conclusion
There is absolutely no doubt that business dimensions have evolved with technological advancements. Successful entrepreneurs have grabbed these changes in due course of time and continue to evolve. On the other hand, people following old paths and conventional steps fade out of competition. In a nutshell, keep an eye on the processes and practices you follow as these factors decide success rate.
Success Advice
Understanding the Power of Yes and No: How to Create Boundaries For Success
These words have a significant impact on how our success unfolds
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Motivation
From Couch Potato to Go-Getter: A Step-by-Step Motivation Plan for Everyone
By understanding what motivates you, you can turn your dreams into reality
Are you tired of feeling like a couch potato? Do you want to transform your life and become a go-getter? You’re not alone! Many people struggle with motivation, but the good news is that change is possible. (more…)
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