Leadership … little things mean a lot

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Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce has a Future Leaders group which meets every two months. Last night Expressive Plus had the pleasure of presenting a short session to some of the city’s young businessmen and women. We focussed on the importance of presenting well in business situations. We all relate well to people who project a relaxed confidence, and that usually comes down to being well prepared.

The small behavioural rituals and protocols really do matter in business. Managing introductions, the art of shaking hands, knowing when to offer your business card and so on are skills that can be learned. Mastery of the little things is preparation and an investment in performance. With mastery comes confidence; out of confidence, relaxation.

The art of the introduction

• Smile … important this. It also helps to relax you.
• Always be ready to shake hands. Keep your right hand free.
• Slide your hand right into the ‘web’ of the other person’s hand. The web is between the thumb and first finger of your hand. 2 to 3 seconds is enough. Wait for the introduction before you extend your hand. If you’re introducing yourself, extend your hand as you speak.
• Make eye contact as you shake hands.
• If there’s a name tag, look down and relate name to face. Use the person’s name as soon as possible and again later in the conversation.
• It’s always right to say ‘How do you do’ but ‘Pleased to meet you’ is generally OK.
• If it’s a ‘cold’ introduction, begin with ‘Hello, I’m … ‘ and say your name. You can add your position if it’s useful and appropriate.
• Practise saying your own name out loud and clearly. Surprisingly, this is a skill not many people are good at.
• Never, never title yourself e.g., ‘Hello I’m Miss Smith’ … very bad form! First and last name is the right thing.
• When introducing others, introduce the person in the higher ranking position to the other person e.g., ‘Mary Smith, I’d like to introduce Kevin Jones.’ In this case Mary has the ranking. When doing introductions, it’s OK to use titles if the person is known e.g., ‘Your Excellency, I’d like to introduce ….’ You never know; the Governor gets around these days. Don’t forget to add a sentence to get the conversation going between Mary and Kevin, so: ‘Mary Smith I’d like to introduce Kevin Jones. Kevin is our accounting manager. Mary is the CEO of Widgets International and visiting businesses in the region.’

And what about the business card? If it’s appropriate, ask ‘May I give you my card?’ Don’t whip it out first thing, or give it out to all and sundry. And a final tip … as soon as possible note on the back of the card where you met this person, and any other thing that will assist the next time you meet e.g., Kevin might have written on Mary’s card (if she had given it to him) ‘At Widgets International reception in October. We talked about the changing nature of widgets and scuba diving.’