Meeting Etiquette

First, I've moved my photos to Shutterfly because Yahoo Photos shut down a couple months ago, and I've yet to organize them on the new site. I'll hopefully get that done during Christmas vacation where I'll have a good Internet connection, then they'll be back up. (Man, just mentioning now the picture situation two months after the change and then not fixing it for atleast another month: Je suis en Afrique.)  Second, if you haven't read it, here's Phil's blog of his life as an Education volunteer in Kazakhstan, where it's already snowed.  It's around 90 degrees right now and it's almost "winter" in Cameroon. Anyway,

 

So, if you're leading a meeting with two other people, and one of your colleagues is speaking, what do the other two people do?  Sit attentively or prepare for their own part of the presentation.  Well, I was at a meeting yesterday led by three people, and while one person was speaking to the group, the second had her head down on the desk and the third was talking on his cell phone.  Talking on his cell phone.  Talking on his cell phone.  This kind of etiquette is ridiculous to someone from America - I mean, he was talking on his cell phone and he's the boss - that I can't really believe it's happening, even after being here for so long.

 

Common meeting behaviors: Putting your head down on the table, answering your cell phone and not leaving the room, listening to your headphones, not showing up for the meeting, coming an hour late for the meeting and shrugging it off ("C'est l'Afrique.") when confronted, showing up late for the meeting while the day before - speaking as a Cameroonian - upbraiding Cameroonians for always being late and shrugging it off ("C'est l'Afrique. Les gens sont pauvres.").  Then in private meetings, having people just walking in and out of the office, just start talking to a person in the room like no one else is there, etc. And always answering your cell phone and not getting up to go outside.