Speak to Win

CHAPTER 5

Mastering Meetings with Small Groups

The effective man always states at the outset of a meeting the specific purpose and contribution it is to achieve. He always, at the end of his meetings, goes back to the opening statement and relates the final conclusions to the original intent.

—PETER DRUCKER

Your ability to speak well and persuasively in small meetings can have an extraordinary impact on your life and career. In business, others continually assess and evaluate you. Consciously and subconsciously, they are upgrading or downgrading their opinions of your personality, ability, competence, and level of confidence. For this reason, you must think of business meetings as important events in your career. You cannot allow a meeting