Sorry… otherwise engaged
When you walk down any High Street you’ll pass by loads of people deep in conversation with a phone up to their ear… occasionally they will be talking ‘hands-free’ and you begin to give them a wide berth until you realise that they’re not actually talking aloud to themselves. Clearly many people have much more to talk about now than they did before the invention of the mobile phone.
Mobile phones go off everywhere, including cinemas, restaurants and theatres… and at meetings. Some people check and switch off or reject the call, whilst others will say ‘I’m in a meeting and will call you back‘ or actually leave the room to take the call… I’ve done all three at one time or another, but either way it’s a disruption to the work place.
More and more of us have smart phones such as an iphone or Blackberry which can do the usual texts and voice calls of the standard mobile, but also email and web surfing and a wide range of other applications. And just as we can talk whenever we want on the mobile, we can now also interrupt our day by checking and answering emails or viewing online content anywhere.
There is a growing trend for people to consult their smart phones during meetings. IT Services even offers smart phones as a work tool so I guess we’ll be seeing more surreptitious use in future. I am frequently tempted especially when the meeting is straining my powers of concentration. A recent poll in the USA suggested that 1/3 of office workers frequently checked emails during business meeting. With twitter or IM you can also have ‘back-channel conversations’ with other people in the meeting.
It can be distracting to a speaker if it looks like people aren’t listening… is it bad manners to check something on your phone while at a meeting?
How we communicate is rapidly changing and there’s no defined etiquette or internal policy for using smart phones or even laptops at meetings… what do you think?
I feel it’s very distracting when speaking at a meeting to see attendees checking their mobile PDAs. Personally I try to remember to put my phone on silent whenever I’m ‘otherwise engaged’.
agree with Helen – if I’m running training sessions I usually have one powerpoint slide which shows what will happen if mobiles are not turned off….after all how long do meetings really go on for? if you want to make a call use the excuse of needing the loo, although this can be rather disconcerting!
I recently attended an Induction day and was appalled to see someone frantically texting just inches from the speaker – needless to say he didn’t do it when the head of CCRA was speaking! I think mobiles and meetings DONT mix – would you answer your phone in a theatre or cinema – you’d probably get thrown out!
I think it is bad manners to take calls, text and email whilst in a meeting. If someone is talking to you or has gone to the effort of preparing a presentation it would be rude not to give them your full attention. If the meeting is so boring that you are starting to fidget, go back to the old fashioned distraction of doodling – at least it might look as if you’re taking notes!
I think that it is downright rude to be texting/on a pda/blackberry or whatever whilst in a meeting. I appreciate that some meetings may seem to ‘go on forever’ but please, give whoever is speaking a little respect!
I agree with all the comments – it’s rude to use your PDA during a meeting/presentation etc. I sometimes ask for PDAs to be put away at the beginning of meetings and try my best to keep meetings shorter and more focussed – not always easy at times!
It doesn’t matter that it is a new form of communication – it is bad manners to not pay attention when someone is talking to you!