3 tips to be more confident during meetings

Morning. This is Better BA. A practical newsletter for business analysts that gets straight to the point.

We won’t give you pointless buzzword sentences like ‘Employing an integrated paradigm of predictive analytics synergised with agile frameworks’ 🤮 If that sentence really gets you going, then you’re probably in the wrong place.

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MINDSET
How to build confidence during meetings

You’re meeting with Developers or Stakeholders to discuss something complex. You haven’t quite wrapped your head around it yet. And you’re unsure how to structure the meeting.

That pesky voice enters your mind - ‘I’m going to mess this up!’

Sound familiar? If so, it’s time to shift your mindset ⬇️

1. Connection over perfection

Focus on building relationships with people instead of trying to get the technical details perfect.

Feel free to say ‘Sh#t, this is confusing! Can we go over this again?’. It’s completely normal to not have all the answers immediately. And honesty like this will build trust with your team.

2. Don’t believe every thought!

Let’s go back to that pesky thought - ‘I’m going to mess this up!’

These thoughts are what we call automatic thoughts - they’re based on underlying anxieties and self doubt. 90% of the time, they’re not true!

Work on replacing these thoughts with evidence. 

E.g., ‘I’ve prepared for this meeting, and I have valuable insights to discuss’

3. Have a mantra

Sounds stupidly simple, but this can be pretty powerful.

Every time I find myself nervous to give a talk or lead a meeting I tell myself - ‘This went fine last time’. And I’m instantly calmer for it.

This mantra serves as a mental anchor for me as it’s grounded in evidence.

WISDOM

'People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas.'

MEMES