10 meeting behaviours to empower you as a woman
Sep 3, 2018 · 2 min read

Ahh meetings: the lifeblood of any good office job. The formalities and etiquettes associated with them are unlike anything you will have experienced before you enter the world of work, and it can be a bit of a nightmare learning how to manage them. I’ve seen this reflected during training courses and talks, where requests for advice tend to centre around presence in meetings and how best to come across, especially if you are a younger woman.
Here are my top ten tips that I’ve collected over the years…I’d love to hear yours.
- Speak early and loudly. It doesn’t matter what it is, just do it. Comment on the weather, say good morning to the room; whatever it takes, just say something at the beginning to establish yourself.
- If you’re not leading the meeting make sure you’ve agreed with your boss what your role is and what you have the chance to speak about. If you’re in the room, you must speak to have a presence.
- If you’re feeling nervous, try out some power poses in the loo before the meeting. It alters your chemical balance to give you a greater sense of confidence.
- If you are naturally quieter / an introvert, make sure to plan what you want to say in advance: it will help with getting it out. And write an agenda to help you feel in control of the conversation.
- Take up space. Make yourself as big as possible: sit up straight, lean in, push your mug and notebook sideways. You have a right to be there.
- Ask your boss or a male colleague if they could be the person who offers the drinks to any external guests.
- Support other women in the room: if they get interrupted, keep your head turned towards them to help keep the conversation in their court. And if that doesn’t work, call out that the interruption has happened: “As X was saying…”.
- Don’t feel the need to follow alpha body language (chair tipped back, arms folded behind head) — it normalises it. Lean in, look interested. Be so keen that the rest of the room feels the need to follow what you’re doing.
- Avoid playing with your hair: it makes you look nervous. If you have long hair, tie it back so you don’t do it subconsciously.
- Make an excuse to walk out with whoever is in your meeting: often the most important conversations are the ones that happen afterwards. Push to be involved in these, and if there’s a follow-up informal occasion, make sure it’s something you feel comfortable going to (don’t let it be a “boys’ club”).
