Before we start talking about mastering and influencing meeting outcomes, it is important to learn how to read people and how to make successful ‘meeting people outcomes’.
‘Reading the room’ i.e., feeling the energy between people is a very important skill. Without it, you will not be able to influence meeting outcomes or any other things that you may wish to do as a project manager, employee, or business owner.
Knowing exactly what you want and staying organized can be easily recorded and set by apps like Easynote, which can come in very handy, especially for virtual meetings where all your outcomes can be tracked. We will mention how this can be beneficial for you in more detail.
Benefits of Meeting New People and Learning How to Read Them
If you are an extroverted person, then meeting new people and the successful outcomes of these meetings are not unfamiliar concepts for you. However, even if you enjoy other people’s company, it may not mean that you are good at reading their intentions, especially in the business world.
The fact is, the more people you meet, the more experience you have. The diversity of people’s personalities and the different psyches you meet can make you very socially smart. Chances are, similar personalities you might find at work and among your team members.
When you are part of a team, it is important to stay likable but also to stand your ground, since you do not want to always play how others say. This article will give you different tips on how to be more likable and use that for your benefit when communicating with people formally and informally.
There are several meeting people outcomes that you can set as your goal, such as staying friendly, polite, true to yourself, and confident. These things are important to keep in mind for both business and casual meetings.
Business Meeting Outcomes And Their Importance
Meeting people and the outcomes of the meetings can be very complex topics to discuss. If you meet people who are similar to you, it might be much easier to manage your team or to get recognized.
However, this is an ideal scenario and possibly a very rare one to find. Not all team members have the same views as you, which is totally normal and expected. If you are a project manager, a scrum master, or a business owner, it can be challenging to make a team of people agree with you on everything.
How do you set business meeting outcomes?
- Firstly, you should think about all the important things in your project that need to be finished. As a project manager or scrum master, you should have a clear set of goals and deadlines that your team will be following.
- Then, according to these goals, you need to define a clear strategy as to how these goals will be met. You should know exactly which team needs to do what and which team members are assigned to which tasks.
- Finally, you need to decide how to present all this to your team members and think about potential problems or questions
Meeting outcomes depend on different areas of work, different company rules, and much more. However, some meeting outcomes are more or less universal, and they are crucial goals to achieve during your meetings. Here is the list of the most important meeting outcomes:
1. Your team members leave the meeting feeling motivated
It is important to give importance to making your team motivated for the tasks you need to complete. You should make them look at the bigger picture and why your goals are important for their personal and professional satisfaction. In this article, you can learn about all the ways to motivate your team.
2. Everyone knows exactly what their tasks are
When leaving the meeting, one of the best feelings is knowing exactly what you need to do and how you will do it. This motivates people and makes them more confident in completing their tasks. In order to assign tasks and track their progress, it is good to use apps like Easynote.
3. Team members feel relaxed and free to ask for help or questions
When there is confidence in your approach and you show your knowledge in the given area, your team members will feel like they can ask you for everything they need and this will also boost their productivity. No matter how many times they may ask you similar questions, they should feel like you appreciate their curiosity and care for details.
4. Collaboration
Collaboration is an important part of any team since it lets your team members know what other team members are doing and how much time they have left for certain tasks. It is not good if someone does things outside the team’s knowledge, so it is crucial to keep insisting on teamwork.
How to Influence Meeting Outcomes
The outcomes listed above are some of the general things that you may keep in mind when thinking about meeting people outcomes. However, sometimes we might want to give our opinion on how to do certain things, or we want others to share our ideas during a meeting.
It is not an easy task since many people have different opinions on different topics. So how do you master influencing meeting outcomes to the things you think are important?
Few things you have to keep in mind
Following these steps may greatly help you master influencing meeting outcomes. Of course, there are instances when nothing works, and all of your team members do not agree with you, but these qualities will always give you an advantage over others who do not implement them.
Analyze your team
You need to know the personalities of your team members and analyze how they behave when presented with something that they might not agree with. Learn how you can reach them all through your speech. Personal wars should be always left aside and you as a project manager should handle this from the start.
Develop a ‘this is beneficial for all of us’ attitude
Explaining how your ideas may help everyone in the team might change the opinions of a few people who might see potential in your approach. Others might also agree when they think about your team’s productivity.
Do not use convincing and aggression
Nobody likes people who have an aggressive approach when presenting their ideas. A calm attitude will help you appear more confident and knowledgeable about the things you want others to consider.
Do not let people interrupt you or talk over you
It is important to keep your firm attitude while you talk, and do not let others give their opinion while you haven’t finished delivering yours. A simple smile, and an ‘I am sorry, but I have not finished yet’ can make you appear more polite and confident.
Stick to the facts
Prepare how you wish to present your opinion and stick to the fact you are already familiar with. Do not mention things you do not know anything about because other team members might ask you questions, and your idea may lose credibility very quickly. Present everything you gathered with confidence.
Let other people speak too
It is important to stay confident when it comes to presenting your opinion, but also, do not be a know-it-all who doesn’t let other people speak. Always make room for questions and calmly explain everything while still sticking to your opinions.
Keep the agenda clear and stay objective
Do not let others bring irrelevant stories or propositions to your meeting. Keeping the agenda clear and staying objective with your team members is going to save you hours of listening to irrelevant speech.
Virtual vs Face-To-Face Meetings
With the rise of the popularity of the virtual world, virtual work, and virtual everything, you have probably had a chance to attend a virtual meeting of any sort. There are a few advantages and disadvantages that the virtual world brings.
Virtual meetings have given us opportunities to work from home and save time. Also, when you work from anywhere in the world, it is the only way of attending meetings and participating in your company’s daily work.
There are a few disadvantages when it comes to the virtual world. People seem to disregard the effect of a face-to-face conversation where you can read people’s body language, tone of voice, and facial expressions. They can tell you a lot about how a certain person feels when it comes to a certain topic.
If your coworker works remotely and does not even turn their camera on, it is hard to read their expressions, opinions, and attitudes unless they speak them. So one may wonder, how can we influence meeting people outcomes when your coworkers and team members are not there physically?
The answer is simple, the previously mentioned tactics work just as fine. We have to remember that we are working with human beings with different personalities and opinions, and this does not change even behind a screen.
Of course, there are instances when you cannot predict what someone is like behind the disconnected camera, but as a project manager or scrum master or any other employee, people’s work ethic says a lot about them as well.
Positive Interview Outcomes and How To Prepare
When having an interview, it is important to prepare well and organize your notes, potential questions, or other things you have to mention. This applies to both potential employees and HR managers.
It is important to implement a few strategies in order to have a positive interview outcome:
- Stay positive with friendly energy: nobody wants to have a team member that looks tired or negative all the time. It is important to show that you enjoy doing your job, even if you do not feel like it that day (we have all been there).
- Ask questions: do not hesitate to ask everything you want to know about the potential new hire or about the company. People appreciate when you seem interested and when you do not stay quiet during the interview.
- Show your knowledge: explain and show how you feel about the topics discussed during the interview, so your potential coworker can feel the energy you have towards the job.
- Implement the ‘we can do this together’ attitude: try to implement yourself into the bigger picture and do not differentiate yourself from the company and its interests.
- End the interview with a smile: a good word and a big (sincere) smile can get you a long way. People seem to gravitate towards positive and friendly people, so we suggest you use it to your advantage.
Meeting People And Positive Outcomes
Meeting people and outcomes that may be positive or negative are not always your fault. There are situations that may be out of your control. However, it is always nice to have some strategy up your sleeve that can help you achieve more positive outcomes.
Implementing the suggested strategies you might excel in your private and business life. As we already mentioned, non-condescending confidence and a positive, understanding attitude are the number one factors that can influence your meetings and their outcomes. Showing that you are a part of the team and not someone who is against it, is the best strategy to have.
Trying to be the best version of yourself both privately and professionally is not an easy task but luckily, there are many resources that can help us with this quest. Stay motivated and try to make others that are in your company feel better when they talk to you- this can guarantee you a better relationship with your friends, coworkers, or family.
Professionally, apps like Easynote, Asana, and many more can help you facilitate your organizational skills which are also crucial for your confidence.
