Videosocials.net co-founder, Mark Bullock, gives some pointers on how to handle arriving and leaving business meetings.
Transcript:
So, should you show up for a meeting late and/or should you leave early? Is that OK?
Hi. I’m Mark Bullock. I’m the co-founder of Videosocials.net and phoneBlogger.net and this is not just for Videosocials meetings, but I want you to think of a couple of things because we don’t have hard and fast rules even in Videosocials about this but I have a few pointers I think that you may find valuable.
One is if you’re going to a meeting with people that you know — you’ve been in meetings with them many times — it’s not such a big deal to ask a favor or to beg favor because of an extenuating circumstance that would either have you come late or need to leave early. These are your friends. These are people that know you, like you, trust you. They know that you’re not just doing it just because your time is more important than theirs and so you need to come late and leave early.
That being said, how well do you know the people that you’re going to be… that you’re going to be meeting with? And how are they going to feel if they’re going through all the steps to get the best out of whatever that meeting is, whether it be a Videosocials meeting or a networking event or whatever the case may be.
And many networking events have rules about, you know, they’re not going to let you in after a certain time etc., etc. But… so, one is, make sure that if you’re going to do that, that the people in the room know you and that you ask permission to do that, as an example.
Secondly, is the structure of that meeting even available, or does… will it even work if you’re going to show up late or you’re gonna… you’re gonna leave early? In other words, if the meeting — if you’re a participant in that meeting, is your participation required at the beginning or at the end or both? Because, if it is, and you really need to leave early, then you need to ask somebody else to cover what is important for you to take care of or cover whatever role that you have.
So, it’s not just… it’s not a simple — it’s not really a simple question. It’s a more complex and nuanced question. So, it makes it — the easiest thing to do is show up on time and leave when the meeting ends. If an extenuating circumstance comes about and it’s a group of people that, you know, just… not just be polite, but think about what you’re asking of them by either coming late or having to leave early.
I hope you found that valuable. Again, my name is Mark Bullock. I’m the co-founder of Videosocials.net and phoneBlogger.net . And we’d love to have you as a guest if you haven’t been before. And you can do that by going to Videosocials.net and clicking on the guest button at the top of the screen. We’d love to meet you. Take care.