I was recently in a meeting with 8 people in the room. (Which is about 5 too many…)
I looked around and observed that over half of the participants were working on either a laptop, cellphone or tablet.
They were not “in the meeting.” In fact, they were barely participating. Their minds were elsewhere.
Why have a meeting if people are going to do other work?
Maybe we need to eliminate all these technology distractions.
How would things be different?
What if you banned technology from your next meeting?
No phones.
No tablets.
No laptops.
Just people.
Maybe a pen and some paper.
Without all the clicking, beeping, and ringing…
How would your meetings transform?
Be warned, you might get some shocked participants.
You might even get some revolt, “But, I need my laptop… to um, take notes!”
Instead, tell your team members to bring a notebook. (A good moleskine is the perfect size.)
Most companies need better meetings. (See Al Pittampalli’s book here.)
Others still need to skip meetings entirely.
However, many suffer from technology overload. If you cannot get through a discussion without a cellphone buzzing or someone click-clacking on a laptop, then it may be time to try a different tactic.
Here are 5 Reasons You Should Ban Tech From Your Next Meeting: