In the business world, we often think that money is the most powerful standard by which we live.
I would argue, our time is vastly more important than money. Its a limited quantity that isn't guaranteed and can't be bought. We have 1440 minutes—that’s 24 hours—a day, and the most valuable thing you can do for others is to be mindful of their time. This means mindfully preparing.
Many of us have great intentions to prepare, but can’t seem to find the time to focus. This is where mindfulness comes in. When you put away the distractions, you can literally do the below activity in five minutes, and I can guarantee it will shave another meeting off your schedule and improve the impact you make.
Mindfully Prepare
Take the time to discover and understand the goal of the meeting AND the needs/challenges of your audience. When you communicate, provide specific examples that relates back to those goals or challenges.
I’ve been in many meetings where employees get extremely off topic and talk about everything they know, hoping something will stick.
They’re wasting time.
People only care about their challenges and goals, so:
ID their needs/challenges.
ID what you have that will solve their needs/challenges.
Use specific examples of how what you have will make a difference.
Example: Messaging without preparing
Mindfulness is a technique that only takes 10 minutes and feels good.
Example: Messaging mindfully preparing
Today, my focus will be on showing you how to reduce your sales cycle, help you attract clients, and reduce stress/anxiety by teaching you mindfulness techniques that literally restructure the brain. Does this sound like a valuable use of time?
At each part of the conversation, return to an example that relates to your audience’s needs/challenges.
Many people feel the stress of not having enough hours in the day. Studies show that we actually spend 47% of the day with our minds wandering. I'll show you a practice to improve your neocortex so you can get more done in less time.
Try preparing for an internal meeting. Take some time to think from your audience’s perspective, and how your idea will solve their goals and needs. Then, think through and prepare specific examples to illustrate the benefits.
Want more tips on how to use your time better, check out mindful meetings to reduce your meeting time and get more out of them.