Last week we talked about e-mail etiquette, this week we want to share our thoughts with you about meetings. Whether the group you’re meeting with is all in one room, or all over the world, there are several things we can each do to ensure that the meeting runs smoothly and that everyone walks away feeling like something was accomplished:

1.  Be on time, and start on time.

How many of us have spent 20 minutes waiting for everyone to get there, or to dial in, and get settled? And once the meeting gets started, people continue coming in, and the meeting facilitator starts over to “catch everyone up.” It’s frustrating, wastes everyone’s time, and simply gets the meeting off to a bad start. Attendees have already mentally moved on to all the important things they could be doing rather than sitting through the meeting. Respect the time of others, and be on time. Meeting facilitators should start on time and catch stragglers up after the meeting has concluded.

2.  Turn off all sounds from your phone.

You may need to keep your phone on, and on hand, in case of an emergency, but there’s no reason it should be a distraction to the rest of the group. Particularly if your ring tone will simply distract everyone by generating a heated debate over which decade had the best music.

3.  No texting. No email. Period.

If you want the meeting to proceed smoothly and be effective, everyone has to pay attention and participate. If you’re constantly checking your messages and working on other things, you’re not going to focus on anything properly. In fact, in a February, 2010 article published by the Chronicle of Higher Education, Clifford I. Nass, a professor of psychology at Stanford University, explained that in research he’s conducted he’s found that “Heavy multitaskers are often extremely confident in their abilities, but there’s evidence that those people are actually worse at multitasking than most people.” Help yourself and others be productive by being fully engaged in the meeting.

4.  Take electronic notes, but be respectful of others.

Make sure you turn off your keyboard click if you’re using your computer to take notes on Microsoft Word, or any other software application. And don’t become so engaged in typing up your notes that you neglect active participation in the meeting.

5.  Set a time limit.

Meetings shouldn’t exceed 90 minutes, one hour is preferable. Keeping them short keeps everyone focused on the task at hand.

6.  Pay attention.

We’ve mentioned this several times above, but it’s so important that we felt it worth saying again. Let’s face it, meetings can be a painful distraction when you have 50 things on your “To Do” list–and none of those things were even ON your “To Do” list when you got started this morning. Everyone needs to do what they can to help the meeting move forward to a timely conclusion.