A rare gift
I’ve had the privilege to work for a few people who you stick in a meeting with a civil servant or politician with little preparation. This small cadre knew how to present the case, read the room, and respond to obvious and challenging questions.
These few were not born with a gift to be clear and persuasive. They worked on their craft over many years. What they all did do was to rehearse beforehand. And they studied the pre-reads and asked questions before any meeting. There was no leaving anything to chance.
Most people do this one thing badly
So, over 25 years, I’ve sat next to or been in the room to see just over a handful of people who did meetings well with politicians and officials.
Most people do these meetings between poorly and badly. It does not seem to matter that you are es from industry or NGO. It does not matter the seniority of the person in the organisation – most are sub-optimal in front of an official or politician.
I’m reliably informed of one Tech Titan whose meeting with a Commissioner went into a meltdown. It seemed that they did not take well to people asking them questions, or people not immediately agreeing with them.
I’ve seen too many meltdowns. It is never pretty. It is always avoidable.
This is a shame. It is just that you are throwing away one of your best chances of persuading the politician or official.
One Simple Technique to 10x Your Meeting
There is a simple technique to improve your performance by 10 in any meeting. Reherase before the meeting. Ideally, rehearse in front of someone who knows the people you are meeting. You can then get immediate and specific feedback on your performance.
Step 1: Practice Session 1
First, do a dry one; say what you were going to say at the speed at you were going to say it. Use the props and PowerPoint you want to.
Then check if you kept to time, and the words made sense.
Then, get feedback. Would your words make sense to the audience? Are there any mutual contradictions to you asks? Will the audicnce need to speak Latin to understand you? Are your images and text on the PPT going to test anyone without 20/20 vision?
Step 2: Practice Session 2
Go straight into a new round. This time, do two things. First, record the meeting. You’ll see your strange mannerisms, like playing with your earlobe, or if Italian, looking like you are practising for an early 80s breakdance sketch with your arms and hands in spontaneous movement.
Second, get the person who knows the people you will meet with to run the meeting “as if it were real”. They’ll interrupt you, ask you every question you never wanted to answer and highlight any glaring inaccuracies you still have in your PowerPoint.
This is important to do. It is better to do this in the quiet solitude of a prep session. Here, if you melt down, only friends and the video will see it.
There are two main reasons for videoing the rehearsal. First, you may deny you reacted in a certain way or played with your earlobes. Second, you have a good idea of what will happen if you repeat the performance for real.
After this, you are likely exhausted and maybe traumatised.
Now is the time to stop.
Step 3: Review, Revise, Rehearse
It would help if you made any amendments to what you want to say. Take on board the feedback. Update the material.
Next, in the privacy of your home office, get out your iPhone and record yourself again. Walk around without using notes, and speak out loud as if you were in the meeting.
Then, you need to do something you are going to hate doing. Watch yourself. If you have ironed out the glitches, you can rest. Get a good night’s sleep, and have a persuasive meeting.
If you are still playing with your earlobe or sound like a robot on speed, practice again.