Office meeting politics can be difficult to navigate, especially for introverts who already have difficulty standing out, speaking up in mixed company, and tooting their own horns.

Luckily there are a few powerful tools people can use to shine during their office meetings and become the most impressive person in the room.

One tip is to recognize that the meeting starts before the meeting. It is a good idea to take a look at the agenda to get a sense of who will be in attendance, the topics being covered, and figuring out what points you can make to add value.

This also gives you an opportunity to raise any issues you have with your boss beforehand, hash things out, and raise the points that you may want to raise in the meeting. In that way you can gauge, in advance, how your contribution will be received and you can adjust accordingly if needed.

If there are particular points that your boss is excited about, then focusing on those will highlight you as a superstar in the meeting setting.

Another tactic is to arrive at the meeting early.

First, doing so will often give you the first dibs at the best place to sit at the meeting.

Hint: If you know where your boss usually sits during the meeting, then the best place for you to sit is right next to him or her.

Doing so projects for everyone else that you are your boss’s right-hand woman and that you have his or her ear. Second, arriving early often gives you insight into the meeting before the meeting.

Often the key players in the meeting will get there early to address preliminary issues.

You being there too allows you an inside track on the main issues so that you can focus on those during the main meeting when you are making your contributions.

Especially for introverts I recommend speaking early in a meeting. The longer you wait, the more likely that your great ideas will be spoken by someone else.

And that last thing you want is to leave the meeting having not contributed anything at all..

Finally, I recommend that right before going into the meeting – after you have determined how you are going to strategically contribute and vetted your boss’s position – is to close your office door and do a power pose, Wonder Woman style.

Doing this may seem silly, but I have seen it work for many people in harnessing their confidence, power, and inner goddess before going into a meeting or doing some other seemingly daunting task.

You are what you do, in my view. And standing there, legs hip-width apart, hands on hips, back straight and head up, somehow allows you to channel the Wonder Woman inside you who is unstoppable and ready to take over the world…or the board room.

The combination of confidence, understanding of and focus on the main issues, and being your boss’s right-hand woman will allow you to be seen as the most impressive person in the meeting.

If you are a woman looking for ways to navigate the corporate politics and achieve greater success in your current career, come join me at my upcoming FREE LIVE WEBINAR “4 Keys to Finally Get the Salary, Promotion, and Work Fulfillment You Deserve” here: https://toniapatterson.com/4Keys-2