10 Meeting Room Etiquette Rules

Running effective meetings has always been and continues to be a priority for successful organizations. It doesn’t matter if you are having an in person or virtual meeting, the success of a meeting depends on how well organized it is and how well it is run.

For modern digital nomads, entrepreneurs, and traditional businesses, a factor to consider when thinking about having a meeting is the space it will be held in. You will, of course, want to meet your prospects and clients in an environment that projects professionalism. You also want a meeting space that is fully equipped and ready for you to just get down to business.

So now that your meeting has been meticulously planned and you found the perfect place to have it there is one last thing you need to take into account:

The ten most important meeting room rules:

1) Start on time and stick to the schedule

Always begin the meeting on time. Starting late makes you look unprofessional and creates an awkward atmosphere where everyone thinks they are wasting their time. You can minimize tardiness by booking a room in a well-known office building so people can get to the meeting easily and on time.

2) Create a comfortable and effective meeting environment

It is important that the people attending the meeting are comfortable and feel well taken care of so they can focus on the meeting itself. Davinci meeting rooms are very effective at this because they are fully equipped with everything you might need to keep attendees comfortable, including wireless internet, food and beverage catering, audio and video conferencing equipment, and more.

3) Don’t use a conference room without booking it first

Spontaneity is a wonderful thing and you might have your best ideas on the fly and would like to discuss them as soon as they pop into your head. But it is very rude to use a conference room you haven’t booked yet because you might be interfering with someone who did book the space and waste their time getting you out of there. This can all be avoided by checking conference room availability in real time and making a reservation via our app (OS, Android).

4) Book your conference room early and cancel your conference room early

This ensures you will get the room that best suits your needs for as long as you need it. With Davinci’s more than 1500 locations worldwide this isn’t usually an issue but it is always better to err on the safe side.

5) End the meeting on time and leave promptly when your meeting time slot has ended

Make sure you have allotted enough time for everything you wanted to cover at the meeting. This will enable you to end on time and leave the space promptly so that the next meeting can take place on time as well.

6) Stick to the Schedule

Before you meet, you should send out a quick email to everyone attending so they know what is going to happen in the meeting. This will help them prepare for the meeting. If you start to derail from your schedule, it can ruin the meeting and make it feel like nothing happened. 

If you notice that there is a lot of interest around one idea or the group wants to discuss a topic in-depth, recognize the need and let everyone know that you think it could be valuable to schedule an additional meeting to cover just that topic. It can be hard to move on past an unresolved topic, but to get the most out of your meeting, you might have to. 

7) Clean Up After Yourself

The office you are in might have a janitor, but that does not give you an excuse to be messy. If you make a mess, clean it up. Basic meeting room etiquette says you should leave the conference room in a better condition than you found it. 

8) Close the Door

It doesn’t matter how important your meeting is, everyone else in the office does not need to know what you are talking about. Closing the door is a common courtesy to give your meeting the privacy it deserves, while also not interrupting other workers. 

9) No Phones

No matter if you are leading or attending the meeting, one of the most important conference room etiquette rules is to put away your phone. If you are leading a meeting, make sure to clearly announce at the start of the meeting for everyone to silence or turn off their phone so there are no interruptions or distractions. 

If someone’s phone goes off in the meeting, address it and politely remind them to turn it off. Often times people try to act like it isn’t happening and continue on with the meeting. Ignoring the problem can leave an awkward atmosphere. It is better to address and resolve the issue than to put on your blinders and pretend like nothing is wrong. 

10) Ask Questions

You know when you’ve had a bad meeting when someone asks at the end, “Couldn’t this have been an email?” If your meeting could have been better sent as an email, that means you weren’t meeting with people, but rather you were just preaching at people. 

Meetings are a time for people to come together and collaborate. That means as both the meeting’s facilitator or attendee, you should be asking questions. Ask questions when you’re confused and don’t understand something. Ask questions to other members of the meeting to get to know their view of what is being talked about. Asking questions will make everyone feel heard and more invested in the meeting. Asking questions is good meeting etiquette.

If you’ve had a bad experience with meetings, consider following these 10 easy steps to make your next meeting even better. Even if you’re a seasoned veteran of the office, focusing on one or two of these can help your meeting run smoother. Stick to these ten steps to get the most out of your meeting when you schedule your next conference room with Davinci.

About Andrés Sanjose

Andrés Sanjose is a writer and editor based in Guatemala. He previously lived in Berlin for 10 years where he witnessed the birth and amazing evolution of the Virtual Office phenomenon, while working as a freelancer in the german capital. He is very interested in what the future holds for this exciting industry and loves to write about it.