This is a guest blog post by Dr. Angelique Adams
High-stakes meetings are meetings where you want to impress people. You know that this kind of meeting is a great opportunity to get your ideas heard and possibly dazzle leaders with your brilliance.
The problem is when you get to the meeting, you choke!
You are nervous that you are going to say the wrong thing and that people are going to think you are stupid. Or, you are worried that you might inadvertently make a colleague look bad. You might have trouble following along in the meeting because they may be referring to terms, locations, or people that aren’t familiar to you.
What started out as an exciting opportunity, morphs into you spending the meeting thinking, “What should I say, and when should I say it?” Eventually, about halfway through the meeting, you start saying to yourself, “Oh my goodness, I am going to miss this opportunity”!
Sound familiar?
You’re not alone. Fortunately, there is an easy fix — if you’re willing to change your mindset.