I have too many meetings where people are late, on their phones or laptops or just generally not paying attention, it drives me mad! There are things you can do to make your meeting more productive – and generally marvellous! Read on to find out the best tips
Let’s talk about what good meeting etiquette is and how to, gently(!) introduce it to your meetings.
That’s lovely – but how do I achieve that in my meetings?!?!
Good question!
I have found the easiest way is to agree on some meeting norms! As in rules of engagement. This is especially useful if it is a recurring meeting. Suggest to the participants that you agree what rules you will use within the meeting. And then stick to them!
Some suggestions are:
- no phones (unless the participant has told you they are waiting on a specific call)
- stick to the agenda – if someone starts talking about something else the group should stop them and agree to take that subject out of the meeting
- no side conversations – only one conversation in the room at once!
- set actions – always come out of the meeting with actions – so many meetings have no conclusions!
- a red card – a bit unusual I know but if there are some strong characters in the room who dominate your meetings then the less domineering characters can struggle to speak. By having a red card these participants can raise the red card, signifying that they have something to say 😊.
- A tennis ball – those domineering characters can also sometimes get so engaged with a discussion that it just becomes repetitive and point scoring. For the rest of the participants, this feels like a tennis game with no winner! If this happens gently roll the ball to them – they will get the message 🤣
Of course, there are lots of other rules you can follow. I particularly like this from the UK government website:
Jacqui Hanbury is Managing Director of The Pathway Communication Company Limited and is a specialist in helping you transform the communication within your company. Follow her on LinkedIn to find out more
The Pathway Communication Company Ltd helps you to improve the culture and atmosphere of your company, reduce the gossip and generally make it a better place to work. We do this by helping you transform the way you communicate with your teams. find out more at: www.pathwaycc.co.uk