Thinking about how I wished to improve my “meeting etiquette” for 2010, I remembered our CMO’s recent Fast Company article describing ten meeting personalities. Similar to most people who read the article, I got a pretty good laugh because I recognized every meeting personality listed. Yet my amusement swiftly turned to embarrassment as I realized I identified with a couple of these personalities a little too much. Hence, my meeting resolutions were born…

Meeting Resolution #1: Beware of the snack attack!
So I often eat at my desk and I don’t always get my lunch down during the proverbial “lunch hour”. I may start eating around 11am and then realize all of my lunch hasn’t been consumed until 3pm. I like to think I eat this way because it is healthier, but unfortunately is it more likely that I have back to back meetings where I am either participating or leading the call and can’t focus on just finishing my food. Thus, I am often guilty of being a “Snacker.” Although I usually start my meetings with a disclosure statement letting my attendees know that you may hear the occasional crunch, I am somewhat disgusted at the thought of listening to someone else eat over the phone. Bad form indeed. And so my first meeting resolution was born: Make more of an effort to schedule a half hour to eat my lunch and spare others from having to listen to the crunches and slurps while I eat. That being said, when a half hour is nowhere to be found in my schedule, I will be sure to aggressively use the mute function, *6, whenever I am taking a bite.

Meeting Resolution #2: Don’t try to do too much at once.
Most of us can relate to the “Multitasker” personality. I am the absolute worst when it comes to doing only one thing at a time. Even when I am “focused”, I am guilty of listening to music or checking and responding to emails because hey, time is hard to come by these days. I can think of a dozen calls or web meetings when I would be passively listening, multitasking away and then break out into a cold sweat. Someone just asked me a question and I have no idea what the question was. Ugh. Not cool. Hence the birth of meeting resolution #2: When on conference calls or web meetings make an effort to remove any distractions that would lure me to multitask. This could mean spinning my chair around during conference calls so I can’t see my computer screen and can focus on what people are saying. Or, make my web meetings viewable on my entire computer screen so I can’t see the emails coming into my outlook.

Only time will tell how well I do with keeping to these meeting resolutions. But just writing them down and publishing them to the world makes me one motivated Meeter! Check back with me in 6 months. Happy meeting!

 

As PGi develops products that promote global communications, nurturing “one world” philosophy as geographic boundaries blur, I find myself continually inspired by the cross-cultural networks we support. Here in the microcosm of the Austin PGi office, the cube walls are low and the camaraderie is high—truly, we connect. We share a collaborative, light-hearted atmosphere where conversations run the gamut from professional to interpersonal. We are passionate about our work, our team and our clients. However, it’s important to recognize that focused, effective communication is not just a corporate goal; it applies to all areas of our working relationships.

This got me to thinking of how I might improve my own meeting conduct during conference calls, recognizing several “best practices” I could enlist to hone my skills. Put my mobile on vibrate before the call begins. Try not to talk over others on the call. Begin calls with an agenda. End calls with clear next steps. Begin and end calls on time. The fundamentals we all know but sometimes forget in haste or distraction.

Yet later, as I sat in my cube and listened to the happy din around me, I was struck by the need for “global” appreciation of meeting etiquette on a personal level. Not just those daily yet diverse interactions with voices over the phone, but within the realm of relationships to the left and right of me. As my coworkers conducted individual meetings on their headsets—with other PGi offices and third parties around the world—I became aware of how easily our in-house conversation and gregarious spirit might inadvertently intrude on another’s meetings. Sometimes silence is the best communication practice.

It can be a difficult balance to achieve: to understand the interplay of our world and work with another’s. But this year, my meeting resolution will be to increase my sensitivity and respect, not only for my clients by also for my coworkers. This will still mean a gleeful “high five” in the hall, but in other moments, it may mean choosing instead to smile quietly nearby when team members are on a call. In fact, they will probably appreciate my knowing smile more.