I go to a lot of meetings. This is not a complaint, just a fact.
Last week was a particularly meeting-heavy week for me, with work meetings, board meetings, committee meetings and the like. I don’t mind because I rarely leave feeling like I haven’t learned something or gained new insight and ideas.
Last week, however, I left more than one meeting with an unsettled feeling in my stomach. At one said meeting, someone answered a ringing cell phone – not one on vibrate, mind you – and proceeded with a conversation. At another, one person texted while another used a BlackBerry throughout the meeting.
I won’t fault anyone for forgetting to switch to vibrate before a meeting one time. We’ve all done it. Or if it’s just me, I again apologize to Bart Phillips, whose meeting my phone interrupted because my husband couldn’t find the grocery list.
That said, I left those meetings not only offended, but confused. In my heart of hearts, I felt the guilty parties’ actions were rude and inappropriate, but was I some Antiquated Annie for thinking so?
I got to thinking – with this advent of mobile technology, what is the new business meeting etiquette?
To find some answers, I called Veronika “Ronnie” Noize, the Marketing Coach and local business consulting guru. Her response was without hesitation.
“The rules have not changed,” she said, matter-of-factly.
Good manners, it turns out, are still good manners.
“The people you are with deserve your full attention,” Noize said.
Because I found our phone conversation invaluable, I figured it might be helpful to some of you. Here are some tips I picked up:
The only reason for leaving a phone on is if you are expecting an emergency call, like your sister is moments away from giving birth or you are picking up a friend from the airport later. In this event, you should inform your meeting mates that you are expecting such a call and may have to step away to answer a call.
And texting, it turns out, is equal to whispering or passing notes.
Noize said she suspects two reasons for such mid-meeting technology interruptions. The first is that some people think they’re so slick and discreet that others don’t notice or aren’t offended. The other is that they’re simply ignorant of how it appears.
“I see it so often,” she said. “People have no idea what a negative impression they’re sending. But what they’re saying is, ‘You are so unimportant to me that I don’t want to pay you the respect of my full attention.’ Or, ‘I am so important that I just can’t afford to give you my full attention.’ ”
Plus, all you business folks, it undermines your credibility. If someone is offended by your actions in a meeting, they’re not likely to pass on business or refer potential clients.
Yes, we’re all busy. But let’s pay everyone the respect of our full attention.
