You Don’t Have to “Speak Up” to Contribute to Meetings

Traditionally, there are four major roles that can be filled in a meeting and each contributes value in an integral way:

The leader: This person convenes the meeting and leads the discussion on all major agenda items.

The timekeeper: This person keeps the meeting on track by allocating time to each agenda item.

The facilitator: This person keeps the discussion going by encouraging attendees to contribute and ensuring all items on the agenda are covered.

The recorder (scribe): This person takes notes on the items discussed as the meeting progresses and on the solutions reached.

To successfully fill this role, you need to be able to quickly process information and record key insights from the meeting discussion in real-time. Young professionals, or employees who are new to a team, can develop this skill innately without necessarily having the same “insider” knowledge as their more seasoned team members.

During the meeting, taking on this responsibility will give you the chance to show that you are a competent and attentive listener who knows how to connect the dots between ideas being discussed. 

To give your notes more context, you might ask:

• What is most important to our key customers in this market segment?
• Are there any unmet needs in this market segment that we can fill?
• How do our current strategies need to evolve to prepare for new market entrants?

• Write a succinct summary: Key points from the meeting structured in a way that allows others to forward your message to anyone who missed the meeting or cares to know about what occurred.
• Keep a key decisions registry. Create a table that lists which decisions were made in the meeting and with whose input, what the outcome of each decision was, and when that decision was made.
• Record action items and next steps. Summarize actions items and clearly describe what the action item is, who owns it, and when it’s due.

The seemingly “obvious” points are “easy-win” contributions. They can be points said at the beginning of the conversation or a topic that help set the stage for further discussion and debate. They are points that leverage facts and data to help paint the current state of affairs. These points may seem “obvious” to you because they focus on what is known.

Your “obvious” point might actually be incredibly helpful in filling in gaps of knowledge across roles, teams, or departments.