Good meeting habits to practice now

This post, written by me, was originally posted on Fiscal Phoenix. The content is reposted with permission. 

As a (former) government worker, I’ve attended my fair share of meetings (and I’ve probably attended your fair share of meetings). Where I work(ed), people love to meet. In one of my previous positions, my unit would hold meetings to talk about when we would hold meetings. It was ridiculous how much time was wasting sitting around a table, discussing nothing, getting nowhere and leaving with less information than I started with.

But more than the pointless aspect of most meetings, one thing I’ve observed is the poor behavior that runs rampant throughout those meetings. From entry level staff on up to managers and directors, there is no shortage of people who are rude and inconsiderate during meetings.

It’s important that you don’t set yourself up as one of those people. If you want to advance in your career and develop a reputation as a responsible, dependable worker, one of those surest ways to make that happen is how you behave during meetings. Here are a few tips to get you started:

• Show up on time. Or even a few minutes early. Doing so shows not only that you are responsible enough to remember the meeting time but it also exhibits respect for the rest of the attendees. If you do need to show up late for an acceptable reason, don’t make a spectacle of yourself when you walk into the room. I have been at enough meetings where people have walked in late and caused such a commotion that the whole meeting had to stop. I have also been in enough meeting where the person calling the meeting keeps everyone waiting. That, to me, is the epitome of disrespectful behavior.
• Be prepared. Almost nothing makes me more upset than being in a meeting with people who are completely unprepared to talk about the agenda. It’s why agendas (for the most part) are sent out in advance. So the attendees can review and understand the subject matter of the meeting.  You look much more professional if you not only are aware of the meeting agenda but you are prepared to speak intelligently on the subject matter. And you bring the information that’s asked of you.
• Listen to the people who are speaking. Don’t whisper to your co-workers or pass notes or do anything that you would get in trouble for in a high school classroom. There’s a reason you got in trouble for it—it’s unacceptable. The people who are speaking may not particularly enjoy public speaking and those types of distractions are not only disrespectful, but they can throw a person off.  Also, before you interrupt with any questions, especially in the middle of a speaker’s sentence, wait for the person to finish.
• Watch your nonverbals. I once got into trouble from an old supervisor (who is a post in and of herself) because I was really pissy during a meeting and my body language showed it. Even though I wasn’t using words, my conduct was extremely unprofessional; that’s just as bad. While you may not know it, people are watching you (which sounds kind of creepy but it’s true). They are watching to see how attentive you are, if you’re alert and not falling asleep, if you’re engaged, your facial expressions…everything. All of these behaviors help others develop a perception of you, and it’s important that you make this perception as positive as possible.

Meetings may not be the most effective or efficient use of time but they do present an opportunity to show another side of your skills. If you can do that, then you’ve turned a waste of time into a possible stepping stone to a promotion.