What not to do once you agree for a meeting

A good part of my time is spent in meetings. I typically meet HR folks across various designations and I must admit that mostly the interactions are quite intellectually stimulating.
But yes there are times that it does get annoying and I am hoping that those of you reading this will appreciate what I am saying and maybe ensure that you don’t do this to someone else.

“Please don’t make anyone wait, Please…”

Well actually I don’t have a problem waiting, its waiting without a clue about what going on that I get hassled about. My meetings are always calendarised and someone from my team reconfirms the meeting the previous day. So once I’m there and the receptionist has informed the person that I have come, it’s very unnerving if the receptionist is not informed about how long it will take etc. Its very important to respect others time. The icing on the cake is when I am ushered in 30 minutes later and there is absolutely no sign of acknowledgement or apology for the delay. Phew!

“Looking at the phone”

This can be the most annoying of habits and I am equally guilty about this but then as I am writing this I am telling myself that I will be more conscious going forward. Putting it on a silent mode and putting it away from hands reach helps.
This again shows absolute disrespect for the person speaking and honestly I think it’s a habit we should all stop with immediately.

“Staring at the laptop”

Why agree for a meeting if you can’t give 30 min of your time? Closing the laptop before the meeting sends a message that you are serious and interested in listening. By looking at the laptop and suddenly noticing a mail can naturally distract you and in a hurry to respond one could actually make a mistake. If you have someone in front of you, the mail can wait.
These are some of my pet peeves and I am sure you relate to them.
I will make a conscious effort not to do any of these and I hope everyone else does too.