Who Owns the Conversation?
/If you're pitching something, asking for a decision, you'd better own the conversation. If you're being pitched, that's the last thing you want.
Meetings are great when they work. They're a waste of time when they flounder.
Every meeting needs an owner. A leader or facilitator to guide everyone through the topic. As the owner, your pre-work will make the meeting successful. If you invest the prep time well, you'll save time for each attendee. They'll all appreciate that.
Owning the pitch means sending the agenda and inviting the right people. It means being ready to answer their questions going in, or committing to a fast follow up if you can't.
To make your pitch, you'll need to establish expertise in the topic, tell the story, present options, and make a recommendation. Lead by example and ensure accountability. As the owner, you also control the loudest voices, avoid the herd and engender participation from everyone you invited. Otherwise, why did you invite them?
Conversely, if you're the one being pitched to, you are being asked to make a decision. You want to be advised, perhaps convinced, right? If you own the conversation, that's a red flag. It means that you may just end up with a bunch of unanswered questions, diminished confidence, and another meeting next week.
If you're pitching, put in the prep time. If you're being pitched to, share your expectations before the meeting.
Ownership Challenge
Here's a checklist for you to assess meetings where you're asking for a decision. Maybe you're proposing a plan, a strategy, asking for more budget or closing a sale.
- Did you call the meeting?
- Did you lead the meeting? If not, was your heart really in it?
- What outcome did you hope for? Did that happen?
- Were you asked questions that you hadn't anticipated? Could you have foreseen these?
- Did the group wander from your topic? Did you get them back on track?
- What will you do differently the next time?
You can easily turn this in to a preparation checklist and track your progress. Send your results to me at graham@primeFusion.ca and we can take a look together to make your next meeting even better.