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Top 10 Rules for Meeting Etiquette
Time to Read: When you’re bored in a meeting

- Always wait for late-comers before you start the meeting – it would be rude not to.
- Professional meeting attenders will need to be reminded what meeting they are in.
- Make sure that all actions have more than one name – that way the action will never get done.
- Meetings must always last for their allotted time, or longer. Never finish a meeting early, as some people won’t know what to do with the time.
- If chairing go through the minutes line by line, so they seem like hours, and when presenting make sure you read out all the words on the slide or document, one by one, and never give away the headline or key point first, cover ALL the background detail first. Like Jackanory, everyone loves a story.
- On decisions go for consensus – it is faster than having a difficult conversation, no-one will know what has been agreed and you will have something to talk about again next time.
- When others are speaking pretend you are listening, and nod a lot. If you do actually nod off when you wake up say in a very assertive voice ‘I think it is very important to remember what we want to achieve here.’ You will likely be promoted.
- Dance around the main issues that need to be discussed while ensuring they are never actually are – professional politeness is all.
- After the meeting, when you return to your desk, sound off about what a waste of time the meeting was and how the company has too many meetings.
- Organise a meeting that discusses how to have less meetings.
With my love and best wishes
David
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Please add your etiquette advice below
Lol very good. Sadly some people do all/some of these!! Some people love a good meeting to pass the time others are frustrated by all the chat.
Thank you Rosalind – yes, we have all been to many of these – David
Rule No. 11: Don’t be rude to people who come to the meeting unprepared and ask questions that have already been answered or ask the wrong questions. Just don’t invite them back again.
Thank you Brian – that deserves to be higher!!
Oh Brian, you have made me think about our meeting etiquette, we make people stand in the corner facing the wall if they do that.
I will add this as an agenda point for our next meeting – must update process…
Thank you Marianne – may I use that (standing in the corner) at my next after dinner? David
Comment received via email thank you….
Just wonderful/ Love it!
Howard
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Genius!
Mark
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Love it! Thank you, David. I am infuriated by “meetings-about-meetings-about-meetings” and “people-who-never-get-anything-done”.
Diana
Remember to ‘not’ have your phone on silent so you look important when it rings, and make sure you take a laptop into the meeting so that you can look busy during the meeting and not concentrate on what’s being said and annoy everyone with the incessant keyboard clicking
Great advice definitely the phone 🙂
Love It!!!
Number 3…genius!
Thank you Daniel – I think number 3 is the point when people who thought it was a serious list, realised…David
How long should you wait for latecomers? It could be embarrassing hanging around for someone who is going to be 30 minutes later for traffic for instance.
What is the correct etiquette/ Would be interested to know.
Latecomers – No more than 4 hours! Thank you Henry 🙂
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I once went to a seminar where the speaker was an hour late! We all waited and the course was great.
All good things come to those who wait.
WOW Liam it must have been a brilliant speaker! David
Inspiring piece yet again to provoke such comment.