What annoys you during a meeting? Professionals share their frustrations

Sitting in meetings is not always fun - but some people have bad habits which can make the whole experience even worse.

TimesLIVE spoke to a number of professionals and asked what annoyed them the most during meetings.

Businessman Tshiamo Tolamo said he cannot stand it when a person talking in a meeting is unsure of themselves.

“Just when they say ‘uuuhm’ or ‘uuuhn’ all the time, like they aren’t sure of what they are saying, annoys me. It defeats me deep within my soul," he said.

Tolamo added: “Also when someone else is using the phone and texting during a meeting is a pet peeve of mine.”

Former sales manager Vishay Ramkolowan also does not like it when people are on the phone during meetings.

“A phone needs to be on silent and not visible in a meeting,” he said.

Many believe that some meetings feel as though they could simply just be done through an e-mail.

Entrepreneur Eric Maphagela gets annoyed when it feels like a meeting is taking forever to finish.

“I also get annoyed by chewing gum, humming and conversations that are off topic,” he said.

But Maphagela himself is guilty of annoying people.

“I sometimes fidget and tap pens on the table, which can be found to be annoying.”

Make-up artist Keneilwe Masemola said that people speaking out of turn put her off during a meeting.

“Also coming late and being unprepared,” she said.

“But I’m always on my phone, so that might bother people.”

These professional etiquette bugbears are similar across the world.

A public speaking blog in Kenya run by Caroline Communications recently shared 10 most annoying habits at work, attributed to author Alain de Botton’s The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work.

These include bringing a drink or meal that you have no intention of sharing with everyone; nodding off; showing restlessness; having a private meeting; and public grooming - tip: skip the lip balm and hand cream until you have a rest break, don’t rearrange your clothes.

Arriving late is seen as a big no no. Apart from dishonouring other people and their time, “it also betrays a lack of time management skills,” the blog states. 

The worst two offences are being on your phone - which shows you are “choosing to blatantly be somewhere else” - and lying.

Even if your intention is to avoid losing a business deal, the corporate experts warn that “lying will only serve to birth more significant issues that will need bigger lies”.