The Top Meeting Pet Peeves that Plague Organizations – Tip #5

The following is the fifth and final tip on meeting pet peeves.  For more information on what the Jean Kelley Leadership Alliance can do for you and your company, visit www.jeankelley.com/our-solutions.

Pet Peeve #5: Listening to Unprepared or Ineffective Speakers

Nothing is worse than listening to a monotone speaker who says “um” or “ah” every other word…or having someone start their portion of the meeting by saying, “I really didn’t prepare anything for this, so let’s just wing it.”

While everyone should speak and offer ideas at these meetings, some people may have to give more thoughtful, polished information. These people should be identified beforehand so they have time to prepare. This is crucial, because in most organizations, to be promoted you must have solid public speaking skills.

Additionally, if someone simply isn’t good at giving presentations, no matter how much preparation he or she does, that person needs to get support and training to become more effective. Granted, no one wants to tell a colleague, “You need to work on your public speaking skills,” but offering support to others will not only make meetings more effective, it will also make the company stronger.

Do Your Part

Business meetings are a mainstay in our work-world, so no matter what you think of them, they’ll never go away. Knowing this, isn’t it time we all work to avoid the top meeting pet peeves? If we all do our part, we can make meetings more enjoyable, more productive, and more meaningful for everyone involved. And that’s one kind of meeting everyone will love to attend.