The Ability to Command a Room – Part 2

Your ability to command a room in professional environments is an important part of being successful in business.  In part one of this blog we learned commanding a room begins with how you enter the room.

Here are 10 more tips to successfully commanding a room.

1. When you enter a room, be aware of your surroundings and who is in the room.

2. Identify who you would like to speak with and show confidence by stepping out and approaching the person instead of waiting for him/her to approach you.

3. If there are multiple people waiting to speak with you, or in your group, make sure you do not block walkways and doorways as a courtesy to others.

4. Keep your right hand free for handshaking. Use your left hand to hold drinks or any items you may be carrying. This will ensure you do not fumble around looking awkward when other introduce themselves.

5. Be mindful of how long you are with each person. Spend no more than 10 minutes with any one person, as you do not want to monopolize anyone’s time.

6. Be present in the conversation. There is great power in being present, so avoid looking at a cell phone or being distracted by looking around the room. Focus on the person, with whom you are speaking.

7. Understand there is more power in listening than speaking and listen more than you speak.

8. As part of your conversation, quickly try to figure out how you can best provide value to that person.

9. Have command of the language by using good vocal skills and avoid using profanity, slang or negativity when speaking. Studies indicate the use of profanity is not acceptable to most people in business.

10. Speak with an appropriate volume. Speaking too loudly is impolite and causes others to have to hear your conversation, while interrupting theirs, which does not build good rapport.

Commanding a room is a skill that will serve you well in your professional and personal life and is an important element of being a person of influence.

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