With an online meeting, having everyone introduce themselves also reveals any issues with audio or language differences. We took the time however for your benefit and hope the effort is valued. While some call this immersion, we call it the road to building impactful facilitation skills. Members of Forbes Communications Council offer suggestions for making a memorable impression when meeting someone new at a networking event. (And here are some tips on how to chair a conference call and conference call etiquette). 30% off all meeting school courses! Networking events are great for making connections and expanding your list of contacts. Just tell me your name and company. How the meeting leader handles those opening minutes can make a huge difference in the effectiveness of the conversation that follows. Remind everyone that the questions shouldn’t be embarrassing or difficult to answer. I literally have a picture of myself on my business card—almost like a baseball card. Do this by sharing your reasons for getting into the field, career or position you are currently in. Tell people specifically what you want them to share with the group, and provide an example by introducing yourself first. Additionally, I thought there will be something like “The End”, after “The beginning” and “The middle”. How should that committee chair have started the introductions, then? Deliverables are challenging to “neuter” or remove the proprietary references. For someone new to the group and inexperienced like me, he might as well have pointed my way shouting “Dance, monkey, dance!”. For online meetings, go top-to-bottom through the attendee list. How you introduce yourself will influence how your audience receives the message you want to get across. © 2020 Forbes Media LLC. Instead, craft an introduction question based on rule #4. Speak with “we,” not “I.” - James Gilbert, CloudCherry, One of the best tips I’ve ever heard for navigating a networking event is to focus your attention on how you can help others who are there. If you cannot codify these three statements into 50 words or less (for each), then you are not ready yet to launch your workshop. Instead, focus on making connections and telling the story of your brand—and this starts with how and why it connects with you. - Alina Morkin, Voices.com, It’s easy to label yourself by your job title and company, but the best advice for networking is not to talk about what you do and instead discuss what it means to you. Everybody knows that having a unique business card is important, but I recommend taking it a step further. tips & techniques Why hadn’t the chair been clearer about what he wanted people to say? As it went around the room, each person followed this short pattern, and I began to relax. in To start, make sure to introduce yourself and anyone you're calling in with. Manage (and rehearse) your meeting introductions carefully. Don’t ruin your career or reputation with bad meetings. Rule 2: Provide clear direction. This goes for latecomers and other people who walk into the room, too. This may seem obvious, but double-check if your message starts with a subject line and ends with your name. by Why they’re at the meeting This is their meeting context. After your meeting introduction, the agenda steps between the Introduction and Wrap comprise the middle steps. All Rights Reserved, This is a BETA experience. For many people, those first minutes of a meeting will always be nerve-wracking. Questions about an article? A question and a promise based on your valued input to our blog post. Find out if you qualify at Forbes Councils. What’s the most important thing you want to get out of this meeting? Your meeting is not a mini-Town Hall meeting (unless it actually is). Consider a quick project update. Dancing Denise from Duluth or Jolly John joins jauntily). If you’re on a conference call and the CEO walks into the room behind you, the people on the other side of the phone deserve to know that the audience just changed. If there’s something you’re looking for and can’t find – let us know! Introduce yourself as if you were meeting a new friend. Our courses also provide an excellent way to earn up to 40 SEUs from the Scrum Alliance, 40 PDUs from PMI, and 40 CDUs from IIBA, as well as 3.2 CEUs for other professions. ), but they also need hooks — things the person needs in order to remain fully engaged. What am I supposed to say in this room of dour-looking, experienced people? But my rule of thumb is to be genuine—do your bragging somewhere else. They can manage the agenda and help clarify who’s talking to limit interruptions. For business and professional meetings, introductions should always include: The company or department they represent This is their business context. Prepare Some Key Talking Points About Yourself, Even if you are the most outgoing person in the room, striking up a conversation with someone new requires work. Be there to listen and learn from others. MG RUSH offers a variety of training options, from monthly LIVE ONLINE facilitation trainings, to Public IN-PERSON classes and PRIVATE CUSTOMIZED TRAINING to fit you or your organization’s needs. Many years ago I was asked to represent my company on a national committee. When you give the roster, make sure you give an idea of their role. - Gabriella Sophia Doucas, Elutions, Craft one sentence that concisely describes who you are and what you do. It is tough to drop the ego, but remain conscious whenever you use the. Context (not content) is key. This works best if you go over the meeting purpose first, and provide an example. Remember, to use the integrative and plural first person of ‘we’ or ‘us’ and avoid the singular ‘I’ so that you can begin to transfer responsibility and ownership to the participants since they own the results. Expert Panel, Forbes Communications Council, Communications, PR, public affairs & media relations executives from, EY & Citi On The Importance Of Resilience And Innovation, Impact 50: Investors Seeking Profit — And Pushing For Change, Michigan Economic Development Corporation BrandVoice. His FAST Facilitation Best Practices blog features over 300 articles on facilitation skills and tools aimed at helping others lead faster, more productive meetings and workshops that yield higher quality decisions. Maybe you can update your article to include one? Include at least one question in your introductions that ties directly to the goal of the meeting and reveals some of this context.