The Professional Guide to Office

Meeting Etiquette

Maureen Schechtman

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Table of Contents

Welcome

Introduction

Objectives

Outline

Part I

The Why’s of Professional Meeting Etiquette

Part II

The Do’s of Professional Meeting Etiquette

Part III

The Dont’s of Professional Meeting Etiquette

Summary

References

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Welcome:

You’ve just landed you’re your dream job as an Instructional Designer

with ABC Sales and Service. You want to make a great impression on your

boss, the executive team of the organization and your new co-workers.

Understanding meeting etiquette is one guaranteed way to be

recognized as a person who can work well in the environment and has

potential for advancement. We’ve all been to hundreds of meetings, but

have you ever really understood the unspoken rules of office meetings?

Some of these rules are obvious, yet there are ways that you can behave in a

meeting that say a lot about you, with you realizing their impact on your

career.

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Introduction:

This guide is intended for anyone who wants to improve their professional

office meeting skills. It is assumed that the users of this self-paced course

have previously attended an office meeting at least once so as to be familiar

with some of the phrases used in the content.

Assessments will be provided at the end of each unit.

Objectives:

Upon completion of this lesson, you will be able to:

Understand the importance of professional meeting behavior

Identify eight important meeting “do’s”

Identify eight important meeting “don’t’s”

Attend an office meeting with confidence in your professional

demeanor

Outline:

Understand the importance of meeting behavior

The Do’s of meeting behavior

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The Don’t’s of meeting behavior

Part I

Why is meeting behavior so important?

Meetings are part of most professional jobs. They can be tedious and

annoying, but also provide a very important function in an office

environment. Meetings are used to impart important information to a large

group of people, allow several people to collaborate on one project,

introduce groups of people from different departments, and standardize

processes within a department or an organization.

Meeting etiquette covers the things people are expected to do and say,

or to avoid doing and saying. There are people within your organization

who will only you know you from attending meetings. This is why it is

crucial for you to know the standard meeting behaviors. People within your

organization will be observing you and, of course, you will want to put your

best foot forward.

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Practice Exercise Part I:

Three important functions of office meetings are:

a) Breaking up the day, getting some coffee, and meeting co-

workers

b) Allow collaboration, standardize processes, impart important

information to large groups of people

c) Standardize processes, allow collaboration, meet upper

management

d) All of the above

The correct answer is “b”. If you answered differently, please re-

read the previous paragraph.

Part II

The Do’s of Office Meeting Etiquette

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Dress appropriately - wear clothing that is appropriate for the job

that you are doing. When in doubt, check the corporate dress

code, if one is available. If not, check with co-workers and

observe what people are wearing in the office. In a professional

office meeting, you should dress as if you were planning to meet a

client. It is important to portray a professional image at all times.

Be prepared for the meeting. If an agenda has been sent in

advance, read the agenda and any suggested or required reading

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materials prior to the meeting. The meeting will be much more

productive is everyone is prepared in advance.

Bring paper and pen and take notes. Yes, it’s possible that

there will be a handout, or that you already know the material that

is being presented. Having a pen and paper indicates that you

have prepared for the meeting. In the event that content is

presented that is important, you won’t have to worry about trying

to remember. Or, even worse, having to contact the meeting

presenter and ask about something that has already been presented

at the meeting.

Arrive on time. This is probably the single most important thing

you can do to show yourself as a professional. Being on time for

meetings is crucial. If you arrive, it shows disrespect for everyone

else at the meeting who made the effort to arrive on time. People

entering the meeting late disrupt the flow of the meeting. You

should always plan to leave early enough that you arrive at the

meeting at least fifteen minutes early so that you are settled and

ready to work when the meeting begins.

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If you must arrive late, walk in quietly, have a seat, and apologize

to the facilitator and other attendees during a break. Never walk

in late to a meeting with a beverage or food that you have

obviously stopped to purchase.

Stick to the Meeting Agenda – In most cases the meeting

facilitator will provide the attendees with an agenda. Do not

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deviate from the agenda by asking questions or brining up topics

that are not relevant to the task at hand. Those questions or

comments should be reserved for conversations that take place

outside the meeting.

Make Introductions - Before the meeting starts, introduce

yourself to the people around you. Be sure to also introduce

yourself to the meeting facilitator either before the meeting or

during the first break if the facilitator is busy before the meeting.

Introduce people that you know to other people you know if

appropriate and not disruptive.

Contribute to the meeting if appropriate – If the meeting

involves participation of the attendees, be sure to contribute. Some

meetings are strictly content presentation. In those cases, you will

want to be quiet and attentive. If participation is encouraged, be

sure to contribute.

Pay Attention – It is crucial to pay attention in meetings for two

main reasons. First, it is rude to anyone who is speaking to not be

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giving them your full attention. Second, although you may think

you already know the content, you may miss something important.

Having to ask for this information at a later can be embarrassing

and does not reflect well on you.

Practice Exercise Part II

1) It is ok to leave arrive late at a meeting if you have another

project to finish up before the meeting – True or False?

2) You should dress professionally for every meeting even if

there are no “important” people attending – True or False?

3) It is appropriate to bring up unfinished business from

another project in a meeting for a different subject? True or

False?

Answers

1) False

2) True

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3) False

How did you do? If you answered any of these questions wrong,

please go back and read this module again.

Part III

The Don’t of Office Meeting Etiquette

Don’t talk on your cell phone during a meeting – a good rule of

thumb is either turn off your phone or put the phone on vibrate before

you go in the meeting. If it is absolutely necessary to have your

phone for potential emergencies (child care issues, sick relative), and

you must take a call, quietly leave the meeting. After you have

completed the call, walk back in quietly and apologize to the group at

the next break.

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Don’t check your email or text during a meeting – These behaviors

signal to the meeting facilitator and other attendees that you don’t

think the information being presented is important. It also indicates

that you have bad manners.

Don’t engage in side conversations – Having a side conversation in

a meeting is distracting to you, the person you are talking to, and the

other meeting attendees. Save your side conversations for after the

meeting.

Don’t interrupt the person who is speaking – If you have a

comment or a question, wait until an appropriate time to comment or

ask. Do not interrupt anyone who is speaking. Generally, there is a

meeting protocol regarding questions and comments.

Don’t leave early – Leaving early can be perceived as lack of

interest, a feeling that you are more important than the other

attendees, or simply that you have bad manners. It also disrupts the

meeting.

Don’t monopolize the meeting - if you are in a meeting where

participation is encourage, do not monopolize the conversation. Be

sure you give other people a chance to talk, and be sure to listen to

what they are saying.

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Don’t eat in the meeting – unless you are in a meeting where food is

being served, do not eat in the meeting. It is distracting and generally

not considered an acceptable polite practice. Eat before you go or

wait until the meeting is over.

Don’t drag out the meeting by saving all your questions until the

end – by the end, everyone is ready to leave. If you have questions

that will benefit the group, ask during the course of the meeting, if

appropriate. If you have questions to clarify information for yourself,

wait until the meeting is over and follow up with an email or a phone

call.

Practice Exercise Part III

1) If you have not had a chance to eat because you woke up

late, it is appropriate to grab a small breakfast and eat in

an office meeting – True or False?

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2) You have some important information to share with your

boss who is conducting a meeting for your whole team,

you should bring it up in the meeting while you have the

change - True or False?

3) What should you do if you have to take an emergency

call during an office meeting?

Answers:

1) False – it is not appropriate to eat in a meeting unless food is

being served for everyone.

2) False, you should stick to the agenda of the meeting and wait

to talk to your boss in a one to one converstion

3) You should get up quietly , take the call, re-enter the meeting

quietly and apologize to the group during the break.

SUMMARY

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Congratulations on becoming a “Meeting Master”

In this lesson, you have learned how to conduct yourself in a

professional office meeting. You have learned eight key points

relating to what you should and shouldn’t do in a work

meeting.

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If you follow these steps, you will confident and poised in any

meeting environment and you will stand out as a professional

among your co-workers and upper management.

Congratulations on becoming a “Meeting Master”

References

Belo Cipriani." Web log post. Belo Cipriani. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Oct.

2014. http://belocipriani.com/

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Giang, Vivian. "Business Insider." Business Insider. Business Insider,

Inc, 11 Nov. 2013. Web. 25 Oct. 2014.

<http://www.businessinsider.com/>.

Ingram, David. "SMALL BUSINESS ." - Chron.com. N.p., n.d.

Web. 25 Oct. 2014. <http://smallbusiness.chron.com/>.

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