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Chapter 3. Conducting Information Meetings

Where do we line up for the charisma shots? There must be an injection or a pill we can take that will transform us into warm, inviting, relaxed persons whose preparation and polish cause the audience to listen raptly and react enthusiastically to our to-do statements. They leave our meetings filled with purpose, always willing to attend our future meetings because we lead so well. Ah, were it so! Although pharmaceuticals are being introduced rapidly these days, meeting management curealls don't come in quick-fix modes. Instead, we have algorithms that produce the same effect. These procedures for accomplishing the end result - effective meeting management - just take longer to develop. Their advantage over drugs and shots is that once you see what it takes, you improve naturally!

Platform Conduct

When you first step before a group, you are an unknown quantity for 120 seconds. The old saying, "You never get a second chance to make a first impression" is true. In two minutes, people make assessments about you that will determine whether they will listen and ultimately follow your lead. Surprising as it may seem, people pay more assessment attention to the visual and vocal cues they see and hear than your actual words. Dr. Albert Mehrabian studied face-to-face communication looking for the channels of communication delivery people heed in assessing speakers. His findings are shown in this chart.

Charismatic people are skilled in the verbal side of communication, but they're also good at nonverbal communication. Part of charisma is "presence." It's your bearing, your carriage, your poise which helps you create a bond with your audience. How do you establish "presence?" A major part of presence is emotional expressivity, which can be verbal or nonverbal. Leaders can "infect" followers, stir them to action, through facial expressions, body movements, and posture, as well as words.

Most of us enjoy being emotionally aroused because it makes us feel alive. We seek emotionally arousing entertainment and, although entertainment is a temporary "fix," we use it sometimes with the hope of making more permanent changes in our emotional outlooks. We enjoy motivational speakers because of the positive emotions they convey. Through their emotional expressiveness, they spark an emotional reaction in listeners.

As listeners, we are also affected by the subtle emotional cues given off by those who surround us. A chain reaction can occur, so that the audience becomes emotionally charged. Emotional expressivity enables speakers to arouse feelings in an audience by establishing emotional ties to the audience. We want to feel that our leader likes us, cares for us and our feelings, and is concerned for us. When we feel that a leader meets us where we are and understands our concerns, we more readily accept their reassurance and comfort. We are more willing to listen - and follow. So, how do we as meeting leaders convey this?

Appearance

One of the first aspects of appearance most folks think of is clothing and its accessories, so let's look at that first. The guideline here is to contribute to the perception you want to create. If it's businesslike, bring out your suit and dress shoes. If it's less formal, note acceptable standards for casual clothes and wear those. Our current culture may consider "dressing up" an unnecessary concern. However, when you pay attention to clothing, you're saying "I care enough about your perception of me to dress appropriately." Some studies indicate that when you're dressed in your best bib and tucker, you perform better because you feel good about yourself.

A second guideline is that your clothing and accessories should not detract from your message. We've all noticed a speaker with HUGE earrings, or fluttering fabrics, or a necktie that speaks louder than the message itself. Although we're in the age of wash-and-wear clothing, we still need an iron now and then. A word about buttoning your jacket: do it. Some style analysts have said that an unbuttoned suit jacket makes you look approachable. Buttoned looks better. Convey approachability by your nonverbal behavior, not your clothing, especially if you're wearing a double-breasted jacket (one with a double row of buttons in the front). Try to look the part you want to play.

Nonverbal Behavior

What you do speaks louder that what you say. Remember the Mehrabian percentages: visual is 55 percent, verbal is 38 percent, and words are 7 percent. At this point, let's say that you have the proper dress angle figured out. Now what? What else goes into the visual picture you are trying to create?

Good posture conveys presence. Straight shoulders and back look like you mean business, but don't go overboard here. Standing "at attention" while speaking may not work well either. Strike a balance. Try to move confidently and purposefully. If you've planned your meeting well, you should know exactly what you need to do prior to the meeting and what your goals are during the meeting, so this lends credence to your movements. Don't stand in one place; walk out into your audience occasionally. If you wish to plan this, make one point standing in one spot, the second in another, and the third in another. If you're using overheads and need to stay near the projector, leave one on for a while, step out in front of the projector, and deliver your supporting material from there. Don't pace or sway from side to side just to create movement. People get dizzy if you pace back and forth during meetings.

The final set of appearance indicators center on your head, face, and eyes. Of these, most important are your eyes. Obviously, if your head is buried in your notes, eye contact with the audience is limited, so practice enough that you can do major parts of your talk without notes. Use note cards preferably. If you must use sheets of paper, glance at them only briefly and maintain eye contact. Don't look at the ceiling or the floor or above the heads of the crowd or just at the people who nod their heads and smile at you. Look at one person in the audience for about five seconds or until you've finished the phrase or sentence or thought, and move on to another person, maybe across the room. Then choose someone else. (Saying their names while you're doing this is especially riveting.) You're creating a series of one-on-one conversations in doing this, which makes people feel you understand them and have their best interests at heart.

Keep the room lights as bright as possible so folks can see your face. You are your own best audiovisual. You are the show! Smile at the audience, act alert, attentive, and confident and your audience will respond similarly. If you hesitate or act unsure, your audience will think, "If you are not certain about this, why should we be?" Plus your uneasiness is catching; soon your audience feels restless and out of sorts. It's the expressivity thing!

Voice

Body language and voice express your feelings, attitudes, physical state, and self-image. Good vocal quality energizes people and adds meaning to your words. A clear, pleasing, expressive voice with good articulation communicates your ideas well and keeps the audience's attention. People will remember what you say and be more willing to respond to you.

What does your voice sound like to others? Tape record yourself - audio or video - and listen critically to your speech patterns, your energy level, your listenability. It's said that we acquire our voices by hearing and imitating our families in growing up. However, we're not stuck with what we inherited or learned early on. Work on improving your vocal instrument!

The first rule of the voice is to be heard. Even if you're the shy, retiring type who ducks his/her head and almost whispers responses to others, you must be heard in order to lead meetings. Some people are soft-spoken by nature; they just don't jump up and down a lot in public. Yet at sporting events or while pursuing a hobby or topic near their hearts, they have enough volume and intensity for two persons. Harness this sound production unit for meetings! This isn't a voice problem; it's a self-image problem and, maybe, a breath control problem.

Contrary to what most people think, your voice doesn't originate in your throat. It starts in your diaphragm, a dome-shaped muscle underneath your lungs and above your stomach. The diaphragm flattens out when we inhale and our lungs take in air. Sound is actually produced when we exhale. Air from our lungs comes through the trachea and causes the larynx to vibrate. The amount of resonance in our voices, that pleasant "hum" that makes some people easy to listen to, is determined by the chest, throat, and nasal passages. Sounds are determined by our jawbones, noses, tongues, and mouth parts. If we experience muscle tension in any of this network, we produce different sounds. A shrill or harsh voice, a too-low or too-high pitch, or a choppy speech pattern can be attributed to breath control problems.

You can determine the amount of diaphragmatic breathing you use by holding your hands over your stomach above the waist and panting. In speaking, we must push air from the diaphragm through the vocal cords to the nose and mouth areas. If you have an itsy-bitsy voice and people are constantly asking you to repeat what you just said, work with your breathing. Since the diaphragm is a muscle, you can exercise it and train your voice to produce more sound.

If you have a big voice to start with, be aware that steady volume wears on people, so you need to vary this quality. Have you ever worked with a person who used the same volume level all the time whether he was two feet away or across the room? Continually loud voices hurt others' ears. Projecting your voice so it reaches all of the audience is important, too. Some speakers address only the front rows of a crowd, while the people in the back steadily lose interest. Share your message with the entire group!

Voice characteristics you can work on besides volume include rate, pitch, and articulation. Rate is how quickly or slowly you speak. People can listen at a much higher rate than most people can speak. An average rate of speech is 140 words per minute. However, if you're making a technical presentation, you could slow down to 100 words per minute. Then speed up on other points, since a consistently slow rate of speech makes you sound tired or bored. Pauses create drama and emphasis.

Pitch concerns the low and the high of your sound and is one of the best qualities to improve your expressivity. Young people tend to have higher-pitched voices so we associate high pitch with immaturity. A really high-pitch sounds shrill and lacks strength. Try for a lower pitch; it is much more pleasant to hear and your voice carries farther. Use pitch changes to show a change in your message. End declarative sentences with a drop in pitch to emphasize the authority of your statement. Lift your pitch at the end of questions since this indicates uncertainty. Vary your pitch with your meaning; otherwise, you sound artificial.

Inflection is the variation of tone in your voice. We would get bored listening to one note on a piano or even three notes, for that matter. Vary your inflection and pitch to maintain listener interest. A monotone speaker or even a three-note speaker sounds flat and lifeless. A hesitant tone sounds timid and indecisive, while a harsh tone sounds aggressive. A nasal tone lacks authority. All these aspects can be improved, but you must listen to yourself and get feedback from others in order to correct them. If you are happy and enthusiastic or stressed and tired, it will show in your tone of voice. Smile in your head and it will come out through your voice.

Articulation is the distinctness of your words. Vernacular errors, such as jest for just, fer for far, orl for oil, warsh for wash, make people think you are uneducated. Better to eliminate dialect pronunciations in favor of more cultured language. An offshoot of this is not pronouncing the endings of words, such as comin' and goin' or wanna. These make you sound lazy; use your lips and tongue to create words and be sure to finish them.

A last word on voice is the use of fillers: um, ah, you know, like. Use pauses rather than fill in with meaningless words.

Visuals

Nothing adds to your professionalism more than handling visuals well. This means you should practice with them, so that you're comfortable using them. Let's consider which visuals make the best impression

Real things beat everything else. A 30-second demonstration, several cans of food supplements, a vegetarian pizza, a set of golf clubs - depending on your topic, of course - will create enthusiasm in the crowd. If you are representing a company or a department in that company, wearing indigenous work garb characterizes ideas well. Other possibilities: models of real things and pictures of real things using videotapes, photos, display boards, overhead transparencies, and so on.

VOCAL PRESENTATION STYLE CHECKLIST
SPEAKER'S NAME:
	RATE
1.	Could be slower ____ Could be faster ____ Good rate ____
2.	Needs smoothing; choppy phrasing ____ Phrasing OK; work on variety ____
	VOLUME
1.	Too soft ____ Too loud ____ Volume fine ____
2.	Same volume throughout ____ Good variety ____
	PITCH
1.	Level could be lower ____ Level could be higher ____ Level OK ____
2.	Repetitive pitch pattern ____ Good variety ____
	INFLECTION
1.	Harsh sound ____ Timid sound ____ Tone OK ____
2.	Flat sound ____ Rich, resonant sound ____
	ARTICULATION
1.	Emphasize consonants more ____ Good, distinct words ____
2.	Word endings omitted ____ Clear word delivery ____
3.	Lips hardly moved ____ Good lip movement ____
	Comments:

Overheads are used extensively in many areas. Here are some tips for using them more professionally.

1. Use 18 point fonts (sans serif) at minimum on overheads. Use no more than 5-6 lines of print per overhead. Don't go berserk with graphics.


2. Either have an overhead on or turn the projector off. No white screens while you're standing off to the side talking and no white screens between transparencies. Put something on!


3. Leave overheads on long enough for the audience to read them. Don't use a transparency if you don't have time to talk about it.


4. Lay a pen or pencil on the overhead plate as a pointer for a discussion item. DON'T USE YOUR FINGERS. Use a red light pointer only if you can hold it very steady, which most folks can't. Don't beat the projection screen to pieces either with a pointer or your hands.


5. Take time to check the visual fit of your overheads before you start talking. Make sure each is level for the reader and that the light from the projector is square with and on the screen.


6. Put information on the top third of the transparency. Push the images to the top of the screen as you talk. Use a sheet of paper to cover future discussion items and reveal the image as you talk about it.


7. Practice with your overheads at least five times before you present. Time yourself; videotape yourself, if possible. Plan segments you can leave out if time is short. Many people spend far too much time on the first few points and have to rush through the last point, which usually is the most important part of the presentation.


8. If you have lots of information the audience needs to have, make handouts for them, and create overheads with ONLY key words and concepts. DO NOT make an overhead of an agenda that you hand out. DO NOT make overheads of single, typewritten sheets of information. People can't read these and then they start to get irritated!


9. To create good overheads, look at the content of your talk, decide what the main ideas are, and make overheads from your analysis. Use pictures, cartoons, photos; leave a word picture of your talk. People will forget 75 percent of what you say within 24 hours, UNLESS you show them a picture and repeat what you want them to remember. Then they're six times more likely to remember what you said.


10. Talk your talk. Don't read it or recite it. Don't read overhead content word for word to the audience. (They, too, can read.) Don't turn your back to the audience in order to read material on the screen. Look at your info on the projection plate itself; maintain eye contact.

If you're using overheads, it looks polished to create an opening transparency you can leave on while you're setting up for the talk. To determine whether a visual of any sort is large enough for folks in the back to see, put it on the floor and stand up; if you can read it from there, it's OK. If you have several transparencies you intend to use, decide where you'll draw and discard. Put them on the left of the projector and discard on the right or whatever. Don't use audience time to file your overheads into a three-ring notebook. The audience gets more caught up in your filing than your topic. Leave the room lights on as much as possible when using visuals.

Reminders

Preparation

Now for a series of quick tips on presenting:

• Don't apologize for anything once you rise to your feet. Don't say you're sorry about your overheads, your preparation for the meeting, your manner of dress, the length of the meeting - nothing. Apologizing just makes people think you didn't care enough to correct whatever is wrong. We're trying to convince people we do care. It's the presence thing!

• Don't tell jokes. For some reason people think these are good openers, but they aren't, especially if they're corny or make fun of a race, a profession, or a status. Better to tell a personal story which pokes fun at you; humor is an event far enough in your past to be considered funny.

• Don't start a presentation with an organization chart or a dictionary definition of a word. For example, expressivity means vivid depiction of a mood or sentiment. Isn't this riveting! (Yawn)

• Don't tell the audience more than they want to know. Your job as a presenter is to distill the information you have into appropriately sized chunks, including enough specifics to get the meaning across but not explaining every jot and tittle of the subject at hand.

• Good content alone can't save a badly delivered presentation. You can have good material, well-constructed overheads - the works! But if you can't deliver your message well, folks won't listen or do what you want.

• Don't try to "wing" presentations or meetings. Prepare and practice. Create a written script which includes everything you want to do. Then write key thoughts on notecards to use during your talk or meeting.

• Keep your hands away from your nose, your glasses, your hair, your tie, your jewelry, your pocket change, whatever. Constant fiddling with these makes you appear nervous and that makes the audience uncomfortable. Then they stop listening altogether and start counting the number of times you do this. Same thing with ums, ahs, you know, and like.

• Use your hands and arms for gesturing to emphasize your point, but don't raise your arms up and put them down methodically because it's good to use gestures. Inexperienced performers on stage provide examples of this. Practice using appropriate gestures.

• If you find yourself wringing your hands while speaking or clapping your hands inadvertently but often, work on holding them in front of you at waist level calmly clasped, much as a trained singer does at times.

• Putting your hands in your pockets occasionally is OK. Just don't jam them in there permanently. Don't play with your pocket knife or money you may have stashed there.

• Don't point your index finger at people. In some cultures finger pointing is a big no-no; in presenting it's just considered rude. Keep your fingers together and extend your hand palm up to call on someone.

• Answer the question, What's in it for me. Why should the people sitting in your meeting be there? People want to gain in some way in return for the time they give you - money, control, opportunity, enjoyment, time, popularity. Everyone tunes into Station WIIFM (what's in it for me).

• People enjoy uniqueness and variety, so plan for that. Most people speak 120 to 200 words per minute, but can hear 600 words per minute. Their minds wander if you don't refocus their attention through a visual, a question, an unexpected action - something to bring them back. Remember that people will forget 75 percent of what you say within 24 hours. If you show a picture and say your words, retention is six times greater. We keep 10 percent of what we read, 20 percent of what we hear, 30 percent of what we see, and 50 percent of what we see and hear.

Finally, good leaders are responsive to followers' needs and show successes or gains for groups. Make meetings count - with gains for all involved.

OK, we're ready! Time to present the information meeting! You've selected your topic, gathered LOTS of supporting material on the key points, have the closing and opening planned. Check your wardrobe for appropriate togs: women are wearing dresses, suits, pants suits, dressy blouses, and skirts; men are wearing suits, dress slacks, and IRONED shirts with ties. Wear formal business clothes as though you were going to an important interview. Exceptions: if you're representing a faction of some sort, you may dress in indigenous garb. Examples: McDonalds manager, firefighter, emergency medical technician, marathon runner, golfer (knickers are nice); any occupation in which a recognized uniform is worn.

Included here are:

• an Agenda Form: copy enough for each meeting member

• the Information Meeting Critique: grading items and points

• an Observation Sheet: each person will be asked to critique one other person after his/her meeting. Just watch the speaker and fill out the sheet. When the person ends the presentation, get the microphone from them, and comment on the performance. Remember to limit negatives to two items and list strong points especially.

• a Self-Critique: watch your video after your meeting and write your answers to the questions asked

AGENDA FOR INFORMATION MEETING
Meeting Objective:
Logistics Date: Time: Location:		Meeting Members 1. Leader: 2. Attendees: Meeting called by: Phone:
Agenda Item	Process	Time	Who's Responsible

INFORMATION MEETING CRITIQUE
LEADER:	OBSERVER:	PTS. POSSIBLE: 30
PREPARATION:
	Professional appearance (interview quality)	(3) _____
	Good quality & quantity visual aids	(3) _____
	Well written agenda	(1) _____
PRESENTATION:
INTRODUCTION:	Opener; creating interest	(2) _____
	Objective well specified	(1) _____
	Your intro / credentials	(1) _____
	Preview of talk	(2) _____
BODY:	Three key points Chronological _____  Spatial _____ Order of importance (topical) _____ Concerns / solutions _____	(3) _____
	Supporting material for each References _____  Examples _____ Analogies _____  Quotes _____ Facts _____  Numbers _____	(3) _____
	Transitions from point to point	(2) _____
CLOSING:	Summary	(2) _____
	Ask for agreement or action	(1) _____
PERFORMANCE:
	Time management (10 minutes)	(2) _____
	Eye contact with audience	(1) _____
	Voice: Rate _____  Volume_____	(1) _____
	Enthusiasm	(2) _____
	TOTAL POINTS EARNED
Comments:

OBSERVATION SHEET for Information Meeting
PRESENTER:		OBSERVER:
5-Excellent 4-Good 3-Average 2-Needs work 1-Poor
PERSONAL PREPARATION
1.	Appropriate business attire	5	4	3	2	1
2.	Voice quality / tone	5	4	3	2	1
3.	Voice audibility	5	4	3	2	1
4.	Confidence displayed	5	4	3	2	1
PRESENTATION PREPARATION
5.	Good organization	5	4	3	2	1
6.	Meaningful topic / key point development	5	4	3	2	1
7.	Attention-getting opening / closing	5	4	3	2	1
8.	Easy-to-follow delivery	5	4	3	2	1
9.	Rehearsed performance	5	4	3	2	1
PROJECTION
10.	Vocal effectiveness (intonation, fillers, pauses)	5	4	3	2	1
11.	Audience interaction / eye contact	5	4	3	2	1
12.	Energy / enthusiasm portrayed	5	4	3	2	1
STRONG POINTS:
WORK ON:

INFORMATION MEETING SELF-CRITIQUE / SINGLE CONFERENCE REPORT
Name:	Meeting Time:
A. PREPARATION:
	Did you appear professional?
	Were your visuals readable?
	Was your topic a good choice for you?
B. PRESENTATION:
Opening:	What was your opener and was it effective?
	Did you tell us what your qualifications were?
Body:	Where did you get your supporting material?
	Were your transitions clearly stated?
Closing:	Did you go over your main points?
	What was effective about your close?
C. PERFORMANCE:
	How well did you "fill the room with your presence?"
	Did you portray enthusiasm?
	Comment on your voice:
List two things you think you did well:   List two things you want to work on:

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