The Ten Commandments of Attending Meetings
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Thou Shalt Not … Arrive Late
It wastes people's time, while making you appear undisciplined, disorganized and inconsiderate. -
Thou Shalt Not … Take Phone Calls
That's essentially saying, "I have a more important person to talk to." If you must take the call, do it outside. -
Thou Shalt Not … Check eMail
If you're checking email every five minutes on a mobile device, you're showing disengagement. -
Thou Shalt Not … Have Side Conversations
A meeting is about one discussion. If you want to follow up with someone, write yourself a note. -
Thou Shalt Not … Forget Your Notebook
Taking notes sends the message that you're totally focused on the meeting and its participants. -
Thou Shalt Not … Talk too Much
Providing input is great, but don't hijack a meeting by commentating endlessly about everything. -
Thou Shalt Not … Interrupt
We know you have great ideas, but be respectful and allow other participants to finish their thoughts. -
Thou Shalt Not … Arrive Unprepared
When you're asked to attend a meeting, you're expected to come prepared to contribute something worthwhile. -
Thou Shalt Not … Chase Rabbits
Stay focused on the main topic and key subtopics that will drive needed outcomes. -
Thou Shalt Not … Talk in a Low Voice
If you want your brilliant insights to impress people, they actually need to hear you. So speak up!
From a personal-development perspective, you should consider work meetings as the proving ground equivalent of your schoolyard playground. There are certain do's and don'ts. And, if you're clueless about which is which, then you'll likely make an unfortunate—and lasting—impression. In other words, there's a fine line between right and wrong here. For example, you're expected to make meaningful contributions, but you can't take over an entire meeting and not allow other attendees to chime in. With these and other meeting etiquette topics in mind, author and leadership expert Michael Hyatt offers the following "Ten Commandments" of attending and participating in work meetings. To veteran employees, some of these rules may seem like simple standards of common courtesy. (Memo to the mobile generation: Pay more attention to the people in the room than you do to your smartphone or tablet.) However, if you've been in a meeting lately, you realize the rules are violated all the time. Hyatt is author of Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World (Thomas Nelson/available now), and Forbes has named him one of the "Top 50 Social Media Influencers of 2013."