Ok, now that everything seems to be in order for the meeting, we will explore tips on how to actually act while attending the meeting. Let’s get started.

• Seat Selection - Generally, it is not a huge deal which seat you take at your meeting.  There are a few guidelines however.  For example, you should try not to take a seat where you think the conductor of the meeting will be seating (such as next to the projector where they will be running their presentation from).  Also, if you are meeting with clients, try to sit with your peers.  This facilitates note taking as well as helps whoever is conducting the meeting to direct different parts of their presentation to specific members of the audience.  However, this is not a hard and fast rule and is highly dependent on your situation, so it’s your judgment call.

• Posture - This sounds like a no-brainer, but most people really don’t pay attention to it.  Just like your Mom told you when you were a kid, sit up straight and don’t slouch in your seat.  Don’t put your feet up on another seat, and for god’s sake don’t fall asleep or doze off (I’ve seen this on a number of occasions).  If you think you are going to have trouble staying awake during the meeting, bring a soda or coffee with you.  Drinks are generally acceptable fare at most meetings.  You want to showcase that you are actively involved in the meeting and paying attention to what is going on.

• Making Comments/Asking Questions - This is a highly situational tip.  There are some meetings where you are just there to take notes or be a fly on the wall.  In this case, talking is usually not encouraged.  However, most of the time if you have a question or a comment to make, there are some guidelines you should follow.  For example, make sure that you know what you’re talking about before you comment on something.  Don’t throw out some “buzzword” just to make yourself look good, as most people will see through this.  When asking questions, have the question formulated before you ask it, don’t ramble.  Rambling questions waste everyone’s time.  Also, don’t just talk for the sake of talking.  This will do you no good and just annoy people who want to get things accomplished at the meeting.  Finally, make sure you are “business appropriate” at the meeting.  Don’t think you can throw out an offensive joke just because a client does, it doesn’t work that way.  Even at an internal meeting, think before you speak.

• Paper Rustling/Noise - Try to limit the amount of extraneous noise you make.  For example, don’t rustle your papers loudly, especially near the speaker phone if you are using one.  This just distracts everybody at the meeting and makes you standout for all the wrong reasons.  Another big one is loud gum chewing (you probably shouldn’t be chewing gum anyway), as well as finger or pen/pencil tapping.  You don’t have to be totally silent, just try not to be noticeably obnoxious (read: squeaky chair).

• Take Notes - Remember that pad and pencil/pen you brought? Use it, it’s not for show.  Even if it’s just to put the meeting title and date on the pad, do it.  This shows active interest in the meeting and makes the audience think that you value the goals of the meeting.  Also, these notes could be valuable if the resulting meeting notes are not up to par.  Good meeting notes can help out tremendously when dealing with follow up meeting action items.
• Eating - As stated earlier, taking a drink to a meeting is usually acceptable.  However, you should try and stay away from taking food to a meeting.  This can be distracting to the rest of the meeting attendees and is not appropriate for most formal meetings.  Once again, this is situational, so use your best judgment.

Those are pretty much the big points that I think about when attending a meeting.  Look for a future article on how to facilitate a meeting.

If you missed Part I of this series, see it here: Surviving a Formal Meeting - Part I.