Ah, the business trip meeting. The stale coffee, the room full of strangers, and the overwhelming smell of hotel lotion on your shirt collar. A business trip meeting may seem a lot like a flat mattress: no matter how much you toss and turn, you just can’t get comfortable.

Still, business trip meetings aren’t an end all be all to comfort. There is a way to make them feel more like a productive session and less like a root canal. You simply need to keep yourself competent, confident, and poised with the ability to transition smoothly.

Dress to impress

It may be hard to know what to wear to a business meeting. Is it casual? Is it black tie? Is it somewhere in between? Most likely, you won’t know for sure. There is no business trip meeting invitation that tells you what to wear. Dressing on the side of caution, and being overdressed rather than underdressed, is the safest route. You will likely want to stay away from evening gowns and tuxedos, but wearing a business suit while everyone else is wearing jeans will go over much easier than wearing jeans while everyone else is wearing a suit.

Don’t Show Off

Businessmen and women, when thrown into a conference room, sometimes adopt canine instincts. They mark their territories in an attempt to be made the alpha dog. This may meet its intended purpose sometimes, but more often than not, the attempt to be made the alpha dog comes across as little more than showing off, leaving you to run from the meeting with your tail tucked between your legs.

You may be feeling competitive among your peers or superiors, but keep in mind that you are all there for a common goal. Even if you are normally alpha dog, it’s okay to hand over the leash from time to time.