It sure feels like a holiday already, but we at The Hire Sense march on today. We’ll keep things light before the long holiday weekend. Google kicked up this fun article from a CareerBuilder.com editor titled The 10 worst things to do in a meeting.
Here’s a good tease:
Who among us hasn’t cringed as the office windbag launched into a self-aggrandizing discourse that was completely off-point? Pitied a meek co-worker who got trounced by the office bully? Or marveled at a colleagues’ ability to string together an array of buzzwords that mean absolutely nothing?
Oh, I have been in many of those meetings.
A couple of my favorite items from the list:
7. Chew Gum. The smacking, popping, cracking and cow-like chewing are annoying. Plus, it’s rude and unprofessional. ‘Nuff said.9. Wander Off Topic. Don’t hijack the agenda. Stay focused on what you and your team are trying to accomplish. If you must digress into unrelated areas, make sure it’s alright with the others present. A good way to handle important issues not related to the topic at hand is to record them on a flipchart and revisit them at an appropriate time.
Any of you salespeople or managers out there who have sat through software development meetings can probably relate to number 9. It is uncanny how the software guys can run a tangential discussion in a topic-specific meeting.