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12:34 AM
My eyes grew heavy and tired.. I felt the room turned dark and all the sound turned down, my eyes begun to close and my shoulder felt heavy, my body begun to slouch in my chair, my mind drifted to the thought to a relaxation in the bed of sand beside the beach.. I can hear the water splashing in the seaside..so serene.. so sleepy.. I can feel a strong desire to fall into deep slumber.. and then I begun to say to myself, "No.. no .. this is not happening.. I can't fall asleep.. I'm in a meeting.":)
Has this happened to you? Have you tried attending a meeting presentation when suddenly you lost track of the topic and you slowly felt sleepy or worst you really fell asleep? It happened to me many times especially when I first started working. There were even times when I really fell asleep. But I manage to work with myself and ended up overcoming the difficulty of staying awake.:) Let me share to you my how to stay up when attending a meeting tips.
1. Make sure you have enough sleep the morning before the meeting.
Lack of sleep is usually the main problem with staying awake (esp in a meeting). So get enough sleep if you know you will be attending a meeting the day before. If for some reason you did not have enough sleep take caffeine to help you stay awake. Sometimes caffeine will not totally keep you awake (this is the case for coffee addicts) but it is better than no caffeine at all. If you don't want to drink coffee, you can drink water or bring candies that will keep you occupied while in a meeting.
2. Avoid your "sleepy" sitting position.
We all have a "sleepy" position where in in that position it is easy for us to fall into slumber. Usually when we are in a reclining back, it is easy for us to feel sleepy. Avoid reclining instead, your body should be leaning forward facing the presenter. This will communicate to your brain that you are in "learning mode" and you will not be sleeping while the meeting is going on.
3. Make sure you are fully aware about the topic of the meeting.
If it's a presentation, you can ask the presenter some slides or references about the topic. Read them in advance. This will transform you from an ordinary listener to an involved participant. The more involve you are to the presentation the less likely you are to fall asleep. So try as much as possible to get acquainted to the topic. Research and study the topic and try to understand it before the presentation is even given to you. Again,the more involve you are to the presentation the less likely you are to fall asleep.
4. Ask relevant questions (or even irrelevant questions).
If you've done step #3 above then this will likely follow. While researching about the topic jot down questions and concerns in a notebook. If given a chance to ask questions, present these questions to the presenter. Asking questions will make you an active participant in the meeting. This will make the meeting more dynamic and keep you fully awake.
5. Look for topics in the presentation that you do not understand (or fully understand).
When you look for topics that you do not understand, you will become very aware of the presentation. The more aware you are the more your mind will work. The more your mind will work, the more you will be awake. You can ask for clarifications with the items you do not understand, this will make you more learned in the process. The more you feel learned, the more you feel good about yourself, and the more you feel about yourself, the more you forget that you are sleepy.
If you have noticed most of the steps involves you acting to make you feel that you are involved in the meeting. This is because the more involve you are the less likely you are to fall asleep. That's the reason why no presenter is ever sleepy or sleeping while presenting. So the key is to be as close as being the presenter when attending a presentation.:)
Has this happened to you? Have you tried attending a meeting presentation when suddenly you lost track of the topic and you slowly felt sleepy or worst you really fell asleep? It happened to me many times especially when I first started working. There were even times when I really fell asleep. But I manage to work with myself and ended up overcoming the difficulty of staying awake.:) Let me share to you my how to stay up when attending a meeting tips.
1. Make sure you have enough sleep the morning before the meeting.
Lack of sleep is usually the main problem with staying awake (esp in a meeting). So get enough sleep if you know you will be attending a meeting the day before. If for some reason you did not have enough sleep take caffeine to help you stay awake. Sometimes caffeine will not totally keep you awake (this is the case for coffee addicts) but it is better than no caffeine at all. If you don't want to drink coffee, you can drink water or bring candies that will keep you occupied while in a meeting.
2. Avoid your "sleepy" sitting position.
We all have a "sleepy" position where in in that position it is easy for us to fall into slumber. Usually when we are in a reclining back, it is easy for us to feel sleepy. Avoid reclining instead, your body should be leaning forward facing the presenter. This will communicate to your brain that you are in "learning mode" and you will not be sleeping while the meeting is going on.
3. Make sure you are fully aware about the topic of the meeting.
If it's a presentation, you can ask the presenter some slides or references about the topic. Read them in advance. This will transform you from an ordinary listener to an involved participant. The more involve you are to the presentation the less likely you are to fall asleep. So try as much as possible to get acquainted to the topic. Research and study the topic and try to understand it before the presentation is even given to you. Again,the more involve you are to the presentation the less likely you are to fall asleep.
4. Ask relevant questions (or even irrelevant questions).
If you've done step #3 above then this will likely follow. While researching about the topic jot down questions and concerns in a notebook. If given a chance to ask questions, present these questions to the presenter. Asking questions will make you an active participant in the meeting. This will make the meeting more dynamic and keep you fully awake.
5. Look for topics in the presentation that you do not understand (or fully understand).
When you look for topics that you do not understand, you will become very aware of the presentation. The more aware you are the more your mind will work. The more your mind will work, the more you will be awake. You can ask for clarifications with the items you do not understand, this will make you more learned in the process. The more you feel learned, the more you feel good about yourself, and the more you feel about yourself, the more you forget that you are sleepy.
If you have noticed most of the steps involves you acting to make you feel that you are involved in the meeting. This is because the more involve you are the less likely you are to fall asleep. That's the reason why no presenter is ever sleepy or sleeping while presenting. So the key is to be as close as being the presenter when attending a presentation.:)
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