We attend meetings for a variety of reasons, and usually with a purpose in mind. For example, we might attend a networking meeting to make new connections and generate referral business. The reason we attend a city council meeting is to share our opinion with lawmakers. We attend nonprofit board meetings to help guide the organization. We might attend a family meeting to make an important decision.
Regardless if the meeting is business related or personal in nature, there are best practices you should be aware of, and actions you should avoid.
I recently facilitated a meeting of local business owners. They meet on a regular basis to create business and opportunities for each other. During the meeting, a few of the attendees did seemingly innocent things, that may have severe consequences.
A good rule of thumb is to show up to the meeting on time, stay for the entire meeting and come prepared. Arriving late, leaving early or showing up unprepared can create a few negative impressions. Certainly you may appear to be unreliable and unorganized by most in the room. Some people will assume you think your time is more valuable than theirs.
Pay attention to the person who is speaking to the audience.
Do not engage in conversations with people while someone else is presenting. Do not use your cellphone to text or check social media sites during the meeting. People in the room will notice you are not engaged. To them, you will appear to be rude.
On the surface, these actions may seem innocent and somewhat harmless. In a meeting atmosphere, they are exponentially more important. They can cause a large group of people to think you are unreliable, unorganized, rude or selfish.
Negative impressions like these can prevent you from obtaining the results you want. Why would you do something that hurts your chances of success?
