Journalist
Boardroom Behavior
Business meetings can be a gigantic bore, especially for a junior employee whose opinions have little sway in a company. For the unfledged, sitting quietly while others talk can feel like a waste of time - but your time in the boardroom is more important than you think.

Case in point: It came as no surprise when Elizabeth, 28, left her job at a publishing house before ever getting a promotion. "Every time meetings would end, somebody would come over to me and be like, 'You know, you looked like you wanted to kill somebody in that meeting,'" she says. "I couldn't control my facial expressions." If you're just starting out, conferences may be the only face time you'll get with senior management, and they're always on the lookout for the studs and the duds of the firm. Shining in front of them may be the fastest way up the corporate ladder, so a great presentation or an insightful comment in Q&A can count far more than hours behind your computer monitor.

Whether you're giving a presentation or simply participating, here are some pointers to ensure nods of approval around the boardroom:


THE PRESENTATION

Know your message. As a junior executive, more often than not you'll find that you have far less time to present your ideas than you originally planned. It's best to stick to one theme for your presentation, and know it beforehand. Present the audience with your conclusion before launching into your facts and figures.

"Go up there and begin with the bottom line. Once you've got that on the table, you've done your job," says executive coach Granville Toogood.

"Very often people don't know their story or how to get there."

To refine your message, Toogood suggests the Eight-Second Drill. Take your 40-minute presentation and pare it down to 10 minutes, then take that presentation and pare it down to three minutes, then one and so on, until you can abbreviate it to an eight-second clip. That sentence or two is the essence of your argument, and anything you say afterwards should be used to back it up.

Play the fortune teller. Put on your turban and take out your crystal ball. Management loves people who can look ahead. Instead of talking about where your team has been, project where it's heading. Forecast trends in the company's sector, or potential obstacles the company may face and how to overcome them.

"The best way to make the deepest and most lasting impression on directors is to go into that meeting and tell them what you see coming," says Toogood.

"It's an indicator of a high-potential person in the ranks. It's also somebody who does what we all want to do, which is to see what is coming so that senior managers can make a good decision."

Don't go too far, though - your projection means nothing unless you have ironclad proof to back it up. Remember what they did to false prophets in the Bible? They stoned them.

PowerPoint it. Sometimes, youth does have its benefits. You're probably a whole lot more adept at using technology in your presentations than your managers. "Use your technological advantage. PowerPoint slides, pictures and graphs can boost your presentation," says executive search consultant Marilyn Machlowitz. "When we've had PowerPoint presentations, I've been the one designing them because no one else knows how to," says Nicole, a 29-year-old staffer at the Department of Education.

"It allows me to have command of what goes into the presentation."

Plain talkin': Anyone who's ever taken a course in public speaking knows that "ahs," "ums" and "likes" make you sound like a glassy-eyed teenager - but few people know that using language that's "too corporate" can make you sound like a huckster. Complicated sentences, five-syllable words and business clichés tend to obscure your meaning. And if you take it too far, people will feel like you're trying to hide something.

"We had this one guy on our staff, and as soon as he talked everyone would shut off," says Nicole. "He wanted to be thought of as an academic, but it sounds like narcissism. Ultimately, he got fired."

Senior management prefers brevity and clarity. According to Toogood, the closer you are to the top, the simpler, more robust and ordinary your language must become.


PARTICIPATION

Prepare, prepare, prepare: If you want to show your boss you have the brains and leadership skills to rise to the next level, do what most people don't - prepare for your meetings. Make it your business to know the circumstances of the meeting beforehand, and then spend time researching the subject.

"You never know how a meeting's going to go, but I always try to stay prepared," says Nadine, a 26-year-old hedge-fund associate.

"Besides going over my notes and talking to my boss, I review the notes from our previous meetings in order to know the ground we've covered."

You may not be the one giving the presentation, but what you do contribute to the meeting can count just as much. With the research and analysis you've done on your own, you'll have the knowledge to add an informed perspective to the conversation.

Have the courage to stay silent: If you're new to the company, or unsure about your role in the meeting, ask about protocol beforehand. "Err on the side of being quiet. You always have the chance to e-mail a follow-up," says Machlowitz.

Your opinions count, but a comment from the periphery can come off as grandstanding - especially if you don't have a solid claim. Before adding your thoughts to a meeting, ask yourself: Is there something missing that has to be included? Do I have a point that nobody else is making? If yes, then speak up, but don't look for excuses because seniors will resent an intrusion.

"Silence is OK sometimes. But as you go forward in your career it would be a big mistake," says Toogood. "Anyone who is asked to run a meeting has to learn how to communicate with other people."

You're not Madonna: Madonna once described how she attends business meetings.

"I walk in there with my orange velvet leggings and drop popcorn in my cleavage and then fish it out and eat it," she told Vanity Fair. Yeah, don't do that. Before you say a word, your clothes and mannerisms speak for you. "You cannot afford to underdress for meetings," says Machlowitz. "It can cause people to dismiss or undervalue you."

It goes without saying that you should have clean clothes and bear a minimum of piercings or tattoos, but if you're the most junior person in the room, you should probably also dress the most conservatively. Madonna can bear cleavage and dress freakily; she also sells millions of albums. Best to play it safe and use your clothes to show your professionalism.

Don't be a wallflower: It's important for your bosses to know your ability to communicate and that you can be a dynamic, thoughtful voice in the room.

If you're nervous to speak or aren't sure what to say, research first and then try vetting some lines with a colleague or boss. Rehearse your lines, then have a colleague cue you during the conference ("I believe so-and-so had a really good idea about that, what was your idea you told me?").

Pamela Holland, co-author of "Help! Was That a Career Limiting Move," also suggests "filling your space."

"If you're around the table, put both hands on the table and sit up," she says. A confident posture and a deep breath may be all you need to speak up. Finally, if you're still not confident to speak, there's always the "save."

"Save the meeting at all costs, and you'll be appreciated," says Machlowitz. Even if you have nothing to add of your own, you can still save the meeting by clearing up tension or steering the meeting back on target. If people are talking past each other, chime in to get the sides to hear each other. If the presenter is having problems with his equipment, be the first one to call in the tech guy. There's more than one way to be appreciated as an asset.

A meeting by any other name ... is still a meeting. They might seem casual, but company picnics, lunches, parties and conference calls are all business meetings, and the rules still apply.

While your clothes may differ for each occasion, managers and colleagues still take notice of your behavior. Even if it doesn't feel like a business meeting, when you're with a supervisors, you're in a meeting and few recover when they forget it.

Take 29-year-old Melissa, for example. She decided to take a conference call while she was in a bar. "The moderator kept saying, 'Who's that in a bar? Either leave the bar or hang up.'" Melissa was too shy to own up, but her supervisor found out anyway.

"I've been banned from conference calls ever since."