Why is meeting etiquette important?

For starters, nothing can torpedo a meeting like bad etiquette. Poor meeting behaviour doesn’t just
keep the meeting from achieving its immediate goals. People walk away with bitterness. These folks
will have to work together in the future. The discordance coming out of a bad meeting experience
can disrupt workplace relationships for months and years.

On the positive side, knowing how to practice proper business meeting etiquette establishes a
framework where everyone knows what to expect. Over time, parties feel comfortable going into a
meeting. They know how to behave and how others will behave.

Good business meeting etiquette ensures that meetings are conducted with a degree of
professionalism. Meetings start on time, run on schedule and end expeditiously. Goals are
accomplished. Follow-up tasks are documented and taken away to be acted upon. Meetings can be
an imposition on valuable employee time and participants approach meetings with a more positive
attitude when they know they’re going to be conducted politely and efficiently.

It’s as your kindergarten teacher said. Everybody is happier when everyone plays nice.

RULES
1. Be on time.

Make sure you come on time and prepare for the meeting ahead of time, says Pachter. You don't
want to waste anyone else's time by not being punctual.

"Leaders need to start on time so people can depend on that," she tells us.

2. Make introductions.

If everyone doesn't know one another in the meeting room, you need to make introductions. You
should do this by starting with the person of the highest rank first, says Pachter.

For example, "Ms. Greater Importance, I would like you to meet Mr. Lesser Importance."

3. Have a strong agenda.

This is part of being prepared, but you should have a good, strong agenda so that you can stay on
track. If you do get off track, you should have a strong facilitator to get you back on track, says
Pachter.
4. Sit appropriately.

If it's a sit-down meeting, you need to adjust your chair so that you're at equal height with everyone
else at the table. "Some people don't adjust their chairs, so they end up being the little kid in the
meeting," says Pachter.

5. Speak up.

When people speak in meetings they need to speak loudly enough so that everyone hears what
they're saying. "Many men and women, especially women, do not speak loudly enough. And
speaking softly is a subtle nonverbal action that can affect your professionalism," says Pachter.

6. Understand the unwritten speaking rules.

It's not polite to interrupt others, but in some meetings, you have to interrupt at some point or you
won't be heard. Understand the rules so that you can have a productive meeting.

7. Do not have your phone out.

A lot of people keep their phones on the table during meetings, says Pachter. Don't do this. Even if
you aren't looking at your phone, it can get distracting if it starts lighting up or making noises.

"Put it in your pocket, keep it on vibrate, and leave the room if you have to take the call or return a
text," says Pachter. "It's really, really rude to be texting during a meeting."

8. You can drink coffee, but you need permission for anything else.

If you're going to eat, it needs to be OK with the entire group, says Pachter. "You can make noise or
give off smells" that are disruptive, so it needs to be OK with everyone.

9. Clean up after yourself.

This is especially true if you were drinking or eating during the meeting. You need to clean up after
yourself and leave things the way you found them, says Pachter. Otherwise, it's not professional.

10. Don't save all your questions for the end.

Ask your questions at the appropriate time. Do not be the person who starts "asking questions and
adding stuff that doesn't need to be added" when everyone's getting ready to go, warns Pachter.
ATTITUDE (3)
Business communication exists to keep commerce humming. It promotes goodwill, informs and
persuades or requests – often simultaneously. Because a sender can only accomplish successful
communication with a receiver’s cooperation, an appropriate attitude is essential: Professional,
friendly and respectful. The small-business owner can achieve these by specifically tailoring the tone
of the message to the intended reader or listener.

Consider Your Audience

In a single day, a small-business owner might communicate many times with many people. Each
time, attitude and tone must be adapted to your audience.

Sometimes more than one person will get your message. Though your communication might go
through a gatekeeper and then be later passed along, the receiver you’re most concerned with is the
primary audience. This is the person you want to move to action or decision. Adapt your tone to that
reader or listener primarily. In crafting your message, consider also the primary audience’s attitude
toward your subject matter.

Watch Your Tone

Tone of voice, whether in written or oral messages, conveys your attitude toward the person
receiving the message. Conveying the right tone can be tricky. The book “Business Communication:
Building Critical Skills” points out that most of us are experts at correctly reading the tones of others,
but we aren’t as good, sometimes, at gauging the impact of our own tone.

The first step to assessing our tone’s effect is to become conscious of it and then to consider our
intended recipient. The tone used with a young employee is not likely to be appropriate for an
important prospective client, for instance.

Be Careful About Context

Context can change the perceived attitude of a message in dramatic ways. In business, power
dynamics must be considered when crafting a message.

Communicating with a superior requires increased politeness and formality than you would use with
peers. The same is true when communicating with people you don’t know well and your elders. Use
courtesy titles – Ms. and Mr. – and last names. Conveying a respectful attitude across cultures may
require research, as standards of politeness differ.