The conference room is not your freshman lecture hall

How did you show up to your meeting yesterday?

Were you on time?

Did you come prepared with questions to ask and ideas to contribute?

Did you sit up and take notes? Or did you sit in the back of the room and scroll on your phone?

Despite what you may think, meetings are an opportunity, not an obligation. They’re a chance to listen and learn something new, spark conversation with a thoughtful question, or drive consensus amidst contending views.

If none of that is happening – or you choose not to be involved – then maybe you should leave.

Psych 100

Do you ever show up to a meeting like it was Psych 100? You know, that late afternoon lecture on Friday that you shuffled into 10 minutes late, sat in the back row, and scrolled Reddit on your computer until the hour was up.

You never even tried to pay attention.

Sure, you technically went to class, but really it was just an hour to kill time and think about what party you were going to that night.

NEWSFLASH: The conference room is not your freshman lecture hall.

You get paid to be there and contribute.

Is it possible to be guilty of stealing from your employer by showing up for a meeting checked-out and unprepared?

I don’t know. But it’s something to think about.

Cost Conscious

Have you ever considered the cost of a meeting?

Next time try this. Estimate the annual salary of each person in the room. Divide that number by 2,000 to calculate their effective hourly wage. Then sum all of them together and multiply by the time you spent together.

The hour long staff meeting I attend each week costs $320.

I’m guessing that’s on the low end of what you’ll come up with.

To say meetings are expensive might give you the wrong idea. It’s better to say that meetings are valuable. It’s time that you start treating them that way.

Show Up

Be present. Be prepared.

This goes without saying if you’re the one who scheduled the meeting. But the same rules apply when you’re an invited participant.

Show up as a contributor with the same enthusiasm as when you’re the facilitator.

Professionals arrive on time and they take an active role in keeping the meeting productive and focused.

How will you show up today?