culled from:http://www.inc.com
I've lost track of how many meetings I've attended in life. It might be around 10,000 hours--which, according to the theory proposed by Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers, would make me an expert on them. Here's one thing I've learned. Not every meeting is valuable, and there are a few that are downright annoying. The main reason is due to how the meeting progresses and if there are a few "personalities" who dominate the discussion.
Recently, a startup called AirTame (which allows you to stream a presentation wirelessly to a screen in a conference room) released a funny video about the different types of people who can ruin a meeting. They sent me a handy list, but be sure to watch the video. Do you fall into any of these categories or know someone who does?
Sadly, I am not sure there is a great strategy for dealing with these personality types. It's important to be aware that they exist and to pres son with a meeting regardless.
On a personal note: I'm guilty of being someone who takes way too many notes and then doesn't share them or sometimes even use them properly.
1. The Time Nazi: Cares more about staying on track than he does his firstborn child.
2. Get Here When You Can Guy: Late. Every. Time.
3. The Negator: Can find a hole in anything
4. Ol' Thin Skin: Perpetually offended
5. WT Ephraim: Proves there IS such thing as a bad idea
6. The Rambler: Able to fit one sentence into 14 paragraphs
7. The Dominator: Never heard a better idea than his own
8. The Social Networker: Fully present (somewhere else)
9. Visual Presentation: Never worth the hassle
10. Underachieving scribe: The best at taking the worst notes
11. The Leader: By title only...obviously