People Who Are on Cell Phones or Laptops During Meetings

[jnojr]

Originally Posted by clearlevel

Yeah, I completely agree that it is inefficient. In fact, it's not possible to do two things at once. You can't pay attention to something that is on a laptop and pay attention to someone talking at the same time. It seems like you can, but you can't. Even a 10 second glance is enough to throw off what the person is saying for those 10 seconds. The brain has a way of tuning it out instantly.

Truth.

When I go to conferences, the talks are full of people on laptops and cell phones. I always put my laptop away, and I use a composition book and pen to take notes. Sometimes people look at me like I'm weird, and I want to ask why they flew hundreds of miles to stay in a hotel and attend a conference to check their email and Facebook.

[Steve McDonald]

Originally Posted by impulsivetravelerguy

This is one of my main annoyances and I made a video on it.

What do you guys think about people not fully paying attention in a meeting? It seems like they become more inefficient because stuff is constantly repeated and nobody is paying attention.

I would say that whoever is chairing those meetings, is not maintaining good protocol nor an orderly and efficient means of accomplishing much with them. If people who are higher on the pecking-order are making those calls, they are abusing their positions and should be brought into line by the highest-ranking person involved. If that doesn't happen, the organization or department may have a predictable decline.

[impulsivetravelerguy]

Originally Posted by jnojr

Truth.

When I go to conferences, the talks are full of people on laptops and cell phones. I always put my laptop away, and I use a composition book and pen to take notes. Sometimes people look at me like I'm weird, and I want to ask why they flew hundreds of miles to stay in a hotel and attend a conference to check their email and Facebook.

Yeah I see this at meetups too. People not even paying attention. I don't even get why people think it's worth going to these things besides maybe the free pizza that some offer. I always carry my pocket notebook and that's how I take notes. I always take the minimalist approach to technology:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAjOMpaWmtc