Cell Phone & Laptop Etiquette
We all know the person. You are conducting a meeting and they are checking e-mail under the table, or their laptop plays that ubiquitous “Windows” chime as they boot up. Is it rude? What if everyone else is doing it? Isn’t it just a matter of organizational culture?
There are no hard and fast etiquette rules regarding the use of cell phones and laptops in professional meetings. I know it may seem like they have always been around, but it has only been recently that their existence in meetings is common. A few thoughts on the matter…
First and foremost, it’s important to pay attention. If you are texting about your lunch date, are you really paying attention? It may seem you can put the finishing touches on that presentation and still pay attention to what’s happening, but brain researcher John Medina, Ph.D. has found that the brain is not capable of multitasking: “The brain naturally focuses on concepts sequentially , one at a time…attentional ability is not capable of multitasking.” If this is the case, if multitasking is truly a myth, are you really paying attention? The research says no, and not paying attention to someone when they are speaking isn’t considered polite in any setting.
There is another side to this equation. I’ve sat in meetings where the person in charge is not being respectful of anyone’s time. We’ve all been there—the agenda isn’t followed, tangents are introduced. Paying attention is a two-way transaction, and if half the room is checking e-mail or texting, maybe a change of pace is due.
Since it is not possible to pay attention to two things simultaneously, and since ignoring someone when they are speaking is not polite, proper etiquette calls for leaving the laptop and cell phone for after the meeting.
This is what I think, but I'd like to hear your opinions. Leave a comment below.
