Business meeting etiquette is not as simple as it used to be. Nowadays with
our more casual work environments and all the tech that we have at our
fingertips, what do we do? Do I bring my cell phone, not bring my cell phone, do I
use my laptop and take notes? My goodness! What do I even wear? In this video I'm
going to teach you the rules of business meetings and after you've mastered this I
want you to check out and stay tuned to the end of this video because I'm going
to teach you how to take things to the next level with your productivity. If
you're new here, subscribe to my channel, hit that bell and I'll be sharing with
you new videos every Wednesday. Hi, I'm Adriana Girdler, a Productivity expert
with over 20-plus years in the business as a meeting facilitator and coach and
let me tell you, I have seen my fair share of bad meetings. Great meeting
etiquette can make your career but it also can hurt it if you're not following
the right steps. Be prepared. Punctuality is key in a meeting, be on
time. This is so important because I promise you, meetings, there's a lot to do
in a very short period of time, not only that, if there's pre-work that you've
been given from the meeting facilitator, do it. I don't know how many meetings
I've been in that I've been really successful when people have done the pre-
work because we were able to get at what we needed to do but when people don't do
it, it just takes more energy and effort and probably another meeting and do you
really want to be in another meeting when you could have gotten everything
done in the one you were at? Mingle, mingle, mingle. It is so important when
you go to meetings particularly if you do not know people is to introduce
yourself and mingle. I have a great video, check it out, on how to
do just that because introducing yourself can really help your
career you never know who you're gonna bump into who can be of benefit for you
in the future. If you know what I'm talking about, write down in the comments
below 'INTRODUCE YOURSELF.' Speak up!
No, literally, speak up, but not too loud, the whole point of meetings is you want
to get your professional opinion out there. Do it in a kind, courteous way, do
not be rude and interrupt but more importantly, don't do the whisper to the
neighbor beside you. If the meeting facilitator or other participants
see that, it is extremely rude and guess what? Everyone's going to be thinking,
what the heck did they just say? That's very much a big
distraction, do not do that. To tech or not to tech at a meeting? Really tricky
question, in fact I was just talking to a team member about this. You know, these
devices nowadays and the tools that are out there, there is amazing meeting
productivity tools, stuff that allows you to engage with other participants
whether you're in the same room or you're even in different locations, so
when do you pick this up I think the key is if you're told by the facilitator,
we're using technology, have it available. Now, what you don't want to do is then
veer off your technology and then start shopping online or start texting someone
else that's outside of the meeting that has nothing to do with the meeting so it
really is a balancing act because I've seen technology kill meetings where
everyone is not paying attention because they're not focused on what's being said
but I've seen extremely productive meetings when the right technology, the
right tools have been used so from this point check out with your facilitator
what do you have to do? If you need to, turn off the phone if you're not using
it, really really important, and if you don't have to use your computer, shut the
screen as well, just be engaged, that's the whole point. Be engaged. PS, check out
my video on cell phone etiquette, there's some really good things in there. The
dress code! Okay, another tricky one because what do
you do here? Again, most more casual environment so we're not all getting
dressed up in suits. Again, it depends on the area that you work in but that being
said as a facilitator I normally tell people how to come to my meetings dressed
because sometimes if we're in a working session, I do want them casual, really
relaxed so that they can really focus on creativity but if you don't know, ask and
if you're really questioning what to wear because maybe there's some really
important people at the meeting, it never hurts to dress up than it is to dress
down so rule of thumb kind of ask around and see what other people are doing.
After the meeting. Alright, this is my all-time favorite thing to do because I
think it is so critical, I always say at all my meetings what is said in here
stays in here and I cannot tell you how important that
is because if you're gonna have open and honest communication, you need to know
you're in a safe environment and as a facilitator it's your job to set that up
but as a participant you also need to know that
and lock, as I say, lock the vault, don't go around telling people how the meeting
was or bad-mouthing it, even worse, that perception has a huge impact
on outcomes whether it's a project or the end result of a meeting so remember
what is said in here stays in here. Now that you know what to do at meetings and what
to expect with all this business meeting etiquette, it's now to turn that around
and take a look at yourself with your productivity.
I created a really cool download for you called 21 days to getting your shit done
at work. Check it out, grab it from the link below, please
subscribe to my channel, give it a thumbs up and share it with all the
professionals that you know. Now that you understand all the rules with meeting
etiquette, I'd love to hear from you. Please share with me your stories. Talk
to you later!