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I don't have much to do with the 'big cheeses' at the large advertising company where I work but they do the rounds from time to time and I see them in passing. I'm not usually a nervous individual but I'm unsure how best to engage with them. I'd like to make an impression without coming across as overfamiliar. How do you prefer to be addressed by junior members of your company?

I've never been hung up over the way people address me and whether they call me Deborah or not, though I might draw the line at "Debs"!

The most important thing here is that there is no point in saying hello and addressing people if you don't have anything relevant, interesting or important to say. People will just either forget you or remember you for being the person who had nothing to say.

That said, I would be mortified if I thought I was walking through my organisation and my employees had something to tell me that they felt could really impact the business but they were too intimidated to come forward. It worries me when I walk into a room and everybody hangs back.

General presentation makes a huge difference, as do making eye contact or just saying good morning or good afternoon. This tells me that you're not a shrinking violet. Looking people in the eye and being engaging in the same way you would in a social environment is key. Having confidence is also very attractive. When you start acting with confidence, you start feeling confident. If you consciously think, "I need to make eye contact, I need to smile and put my shoulders back," then your body language will start the process. Before you know it you will start getting a better response and you will enter an upward spiral.

You can definitely work on confidence and the first step is to stand in a confident way. People tend to treat you in the way that you invite them to treat you.

Deborah Meaden is author of Common Sense Rules (Random House, £7.99). Read more advice from Deborah Meaden.

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