I've spent most of my time in meetings. Perhaps you have too. I guess meetings have become a part of office life. Over the years, I've compiled a list of annoying behaviors in meetings. These behaviors aren't inherently annoying, but when three or four of them appear simultaneously in a meeting, your patience is definitely put to the test.
1. Arriving late
This will waste everyone's time. You'll not only miss some of the meeting's content, but you'll also force the entire team to restart the meeting just so you can catch up. This also shows that you're disorganized and unable to manage your own time. Is that the image you want to project to others?
2. Answer the phone.
This is perhaps the most annoying behavior. At the very least, be polite, quietly excuse yourself, and leave the meeting. And remember, don't answer your phone on your way out the door. Try to remain silent until you're completely out of a place where you can comfortably talk.
3. Check your email.
This is similar to answering the phone. It shows you have something even more important to do than pay attention to the meeting. Be upfront and say "no" to this. Leave your laptop at your office unless you need it for a presentation. And, please refrain from pulling out your Blackberry or iPhone every five minutes just to check messages.
4. Side discussion
An effective meeting should consist of only one conversation at a time. Any side conversation will distract everyone. Worst of all, it makes it difficult for the facilitator to keep the meeting going. Maintain self-control. If you need to say something to someone, write it down yourself and share it after the meeting is over.
5. No record keeping
If you think this meeting isn't worth taking notes on, why bother attending? Not taking notes suggests that "the meeting content isn't memorable or there are no tasks to accomplish." You know, meetings become much more interesting when you take notes on your thoughts or what others are sharing.
6. Talking too much
Nothing is worse than having one person in a meeting who feels obligated to comment on everything. They just keep talking… talking… and talking non-stop. Come on, let others have a chance to speak up!
7. Interrupting others.
You have a fantastic idea. You're intelligent. We know that. But can you wait until everyone else has spoken? And the worst part is when there are people in meetings who change the topic on a whim, making everyone dizzy.
8. Participating without prior preparation.
Perhaps you used to avoid preparing for class. But this is real life. When you're invited to a meeting, people expect you to participate and contribute. If you don't, people will assume you're unprepared. And perhaps that's why you're receiving fewer and fewer invitations to meetings.
9. Lack of concentration
This is one of the behaviors that makes meetings last longer than necessary. You don't need to respond to every criticism. You don't need to tell those long, rambling stories everyone's heard before. Focus. You can do it! The sooner we get the meeting agenda over with, the sooner we can get back to the office and tackle some of the real tasks.
10. Remain silent.
Every meeting seems to feature them – the people who sit there silently. How can they sit so quietly throughout the entire meeting? Why do they still attend meetings? Worse still, why are they still invited to meetings?
Conclusion
When you seriously consider it, you'll realize that the root of these actions is a lack of respect. Just think how effective meetings would be if we showed respect and abandoned these unpleasant behaviors?
Source: Saga.vn
