Most professionals and executives, I have worked with are on "meeting overload." Meetings take up a lot of time. They are often not productive. They tend to bog you down in the process. For a 'quiet or soft-spoken' person there are other considerations that can make meetings a thing to dread. It's a tough place to get heard. Lots of voices compete for attention. If you don't say much, you can get labelled as disinterested or uncommitted. Sounds familiar?

Whether we like it or not, meetings are a part of doing business, an important part. Research has found that four out of five managers evaluate each other based on how they participate in a meeting, and 87% judge leadership based on how a person runs a meeting.

With so much at stake, why not you use meetings to create an opportunity for yourself? Here are some strategies to project yourself as a leader.

(click on each point for the whole story)

• Plan ahead
• Take the offense
• Plant seeds
• Arrive early
• Don't sit on the sidelines
• Contribute something early
• Increase your talk time
• Use positive language
• Make it a game

Meetings are an invaluable part of the work culture. Succeeding at the workplace and in the business world needs active participation at meetings. Planning ahead and following up on meetings are just as equally important as attending them. Use participation at meetings as an important part of your career development and growth programme!

Contributed by Kamal Kant, Career Guide & Principal Consultant, Next Transition. Website: www.nexttransition.com

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