Pitch/Meeting Etiquette

From Paula Purtell, Business Presentation Manager, Palio

Have you ever been the presenter in a meeting, going through your material, believing everything is going smoothly …  only to look out into your audience and realize you’ve lost the attention of some of the attendees? You panic. Sweat beads on your forehead. You start to lose confidence in your content. You wonder if your interesting presentation has somehow morphed into a recitation that has bored your audience to death.

The next time this happens to you, take a step back and try to assess what’s really happening. I have seen many presentations ruined not by the presenter, but by the attendee(s) — those super busy, very important people in the audience who just can’t stand to be disconnected from their Blackberries or laptops. I’ve been in pitch meetings where an attendee answered a call, returned emails and texts, and read over non-pitch-related documents! Are these people forgetting that the team in front of them took great pains to prepare a compelling presentation and are excited to introduce themselves and share their story?!

Now, I happen to be talking about a pitch meeting, which is large in its importance and scope, but we’ve all seen the same inconsiderate behaviors in day-to-day meetings as well. In business, we need to start treating every meeting as a reflection of ourselves and the company we work for.

From searching the internet, I found a few people’s advice and thought I’d share the 10 commandments of meeting etiquette.

10. Arrive Early (or at least on time)

9. Clear your schedule. Come into the meeting ready to give 100% attention.

8. Be Considerate. Leave your electronics out of the room. Do not put your Blackberry, Treo, or other email organizer on the table. It’s too tempting to check your email, voicemail, social media, etc.

7. Do Not Interrupt. Unless the speaker has invited you to interact with him or her during the meeting, hold your comments until the meeting has finished or until the speaker asks for comments.

6. Pay Attention. Listen to the speaker. You do not want to waste meeting time asking a question that has already been answered or asked. Do not fidget, drum your fingers, tap your pen.

5. Never Carry On Separate Conversations. This is incredibly distracting to the speaker.

4. Come Prepared. Always bring something to write on as well as to write with. If you are the presenter, be prepared to provide these items for the attendees.

3. Be succinct and clear when asking questions of the presenter or team. If your question is detailed, break it into parts or several questions. But be sure to ask only one question at a time; others may have questions as well.

2. Attend the Entire Meeting. Leave only when the meeting is finished. Leaving before the end of the meeting can be disruptive to other attendees and inconsiderate of the speaker.

1. Feedback. If you’ve found the presentation interesting, let the team know.  And if you found the presentation sorely lacking, let them know that too, in the most diplomatic way possible.

Remember that meetings have a purpose – to inform and to gather insights from those in attendance. Showing the speaker some courtesy by listening and asking pertinent questions can help everyone seated in the room walk away feeling as though their time was well-spent.