By Meg McLean
With these meeting etiquette tips, you can stay on the good side of people in the office. Meetings are part of the everyday lives of most professionals – but that doesn’t mean they’re always professional. Business meetings can be hotbeds of annoying habits and not-so-professional behavior.
No need to join the ranks of the folks who make meetings difficult. Good meeting etiquette can improve your image at the office, earn respect from people and encourage cooperation. Most important, it can make meetings run smoother. A quick review of Robert’s rules of order might be a good place to start.
Then you’re ready to move on to these meeting etiquette tips to keep your professional image during meetings. (More to the point, here are tips for your co-workers so they stop driving you crazy during meetings.)
1. Be on time
Don’t be late to the meeting. This might seem like a no-brainer, but think for a moment. When was the last meeting you attended where everyone was there on time? It’s easy to get sidetracked and distracted at the office. Work beckons, people swing by your desk, and doing “just one last thing” can lead you quickly down a rabbit hole – all of which can make you late to the meeting.
People scheduled the meeting in advance for a reason. Plan ahead. Set multiple reminders, and don’t start any new projects immediately before a meeting begins. Do you have a chronic problem? If you simply can’t overcome being late on your own, enlist someone’s help. Have them drop by your desk on their way to the meeting so you can “carpool” down the hall to the meeting space.
2. Mingle before the meeting
Now that you’re super punctual, you may even have a few minutes before the meeting starts. Use that time well. Learn about what projects others are working on while you hang out and sip your coffee.
If there are new folks in the meeting, take advantage of the opportunity and introduce yourself. Better yet, introduce people to each other. That person hiding out in a corner might be too shy to walk up to someone they don’t know, so you can do them a favor by stepping in.
The biggest takeaway, here, though, is to do your socializing before the meeting begins. When the meeting organizer is speaking is not the right time to chat with your colleagues, even if you whisper on the side.
3. Be concise
Have you ever wanted to throw your coffee cup at the guy across the table who just will not get to the point? Don’t be that guy. Ask your question or say what you need to say as succinctly as possible.
Here are two pro tips to keep your conversation concise:
- Don’t repeat yourself. It can be hard to notice when you do this. So look for these red-flag phrases: “As I said” and “Again.” If you catch yourself saying either one of those phrases, you’re probably repeating yourself.
- Give only the information necessary to make your point. Most likely, the group sitting around the table with you doesn’t need to know the entire backstory behind your interaction with a customer, for example. They only need to know what the customer’s problem was and how you resolved it.
