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I certainly agree that if your laptop is open, you're not really listening. (If you're looking up something for the meeting, then the fact that you're not list
by jholman 10y ago
I certainly agree that if your laptop is open, you're not really listening. (If you're looking up something for the meeting, then the fact that you're not listening may well be a contribution, of course.)
What I think is not so clear is whether or not it's okay to have people at a meeting who are mostly-not-present, but just background-listening. They might know that the meeting is mostly not for/about them, but that it might touch on their stuff, and they want to stay loosely informed. Of course, if someone takes good notes and sends them around, those might be just as good, but maybe no such notes exist.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- kqr 10y agoI'm sometimes called to attend meetings to act as a "tech advisor" – in case any technical questions arise they know I'm physically there so they can grill me all they like. Most of the time, I don't say a word during the whole meeting other than "Hello, my name is so-and-so and I'm a software developer at the company" and then "It was a pleasure meeting you, looking forward to next time!". I just quietly work away in a corner, pretending to take notes. The project managers feel more confident when they know I'm there, so I can be there just as well as anywhere else. As long as you're not expected to be actively participating, there's no harm in not being actively participating.