Recently I was in a breakout room with someone who I had known since the first lockdown. Usually, she was great to spend time with: upbeat, knowledgeable in her field and not pushy. Today it was different, she obviously had to get something off her chest. It seems that, in the main room, someone was eating while being on camera, and she was irate!

My understanding of what was being said was that she thought this was unprofessional and disrespectful since, she said, whilst concentrating on eating, full attention was not being given to whatever was being said. Also, part of the problem was how close we are when we are meeting via a screen rather than when in a face-to-face meeting. Suffice to say once she had her say, she calmed down and became the upbeat, knowledgeable-in-her-field and not-pushy person I had known so far.

Now, I hadn’t seen the person eating, but her strong response got me thinking:

• First, is eating during virtual meetings acceptable?
• Next, if no, what is acceptable to consume?
• And finally, the issue of people multi-tasking during meetings.

So, let’s look at each issue a bit more.

Is eating during virtual meetings acceptable?

Well, I’d rather not watch someone eating, and some people, I think, forget they are not sat on their own in their dining room. They shovel it in, munch away and keep inspecting whatever food is left in their hand. I don’t really like it and I do think it looks unprofessional. After all, how many meetings do you go to with potential customers where you eat your toast during the meeting? I don’t feel very strongly, but I would rather not see it in a virtual meeting. Furthermore, there’s no travelling time, so this saved time could be used to have the food before the meeting.

If eating is not acceptable, then is anything acceptable?

Now, I must admit to a challenge I have. I drink cappuccinos and, when I do, I have to stop myself from licking the spoon. There. It’s said, I’m working on it and trying my best. Phew! That’s better now it’s in the open. Anyway, from that you can see that I think it’s OK to drink non-alcoholic drinks during a virtual meeting—but from a glass, cup or receptacle that has been produced for drinking from. Not, as I saw once, drinking from the container it was bought in.

Multi-tasking during meetings

My contact was in part annoyed because she thought if people are eating, they are not concentrating on what is being said. I agree, and if you want to know more about this go to: https://www.ebn.uk.com/blog/?p=154

What do you think?

(And, in case you are saying, “Don’t ebn meet over breakfast?” Yes, we do, and we stop any kind of presenting while we all eat breakfast and chat to our neighbours, and we sit further apart than we do when we meet virtually.)

If you want more networking tips go to: https://blog.ebn.uk.com/tips-on-networking.html

Have fun, stay safe.

Glenys

It is almost a year since the first lockdown in England, when we were told to stay home in an attempt to stop this horrendous virus. If you read my blogs regularly (thank you) you will know that this time last year I was knocked sideways, see “Being hit by a two by four”: https://www.ebn.uk.com/blog/?p=145 as my business seemed to have disappeared and I was getting letters, phone calls and texts giving dire warnings about going past my own front door.

 I know, whatever challenges I have faced, some others have faced worse. We have all valiantly battled with virtual meetings, working out the etiquette, lighting, camera angle whilst at the same time dealing with strange hairdos, barking dogs, deliveries arriving in the middle of meetings, people drilling outside the room we are working in…you know what I am talking about.

 It’s been a long year, while, at the same time, time has flown. As we learnt how to get connected, unmute and mute, and leave a meeting by saying goodbye, doing the obligatory wave and then have to find the leave button. People have shared their problems, both business and personal, we have laughed together, and tried to make sense of what is happening and how we deal with it, together. This is what networking has always meant to me—having people around me who give advice, support, and refer people to me so my business grows. Networking has meant I have helped others when they have challenges and celebrated their successes.

In all this malarkey all the pluses of networking have remained, and we have dealt with the minuses. We have tried to remain positive, even when things were uncertain and sometimes basically frightening.

In the last month however, things seem to have changed. As one contact said: “I can see a light at the end of a tunnel and for the first time in ages I don’t think it’s a train coming towards me”. People are getting their injections and we are on our way to safety, to getting back to meeting people without fear. Life will not be the same, many of us have learnt new ways which will be carried over even when we are allowed to meet in face-to-face. It will be fantastic, I cannot wait, and I know others feel the same. What I hope is that we do not lose that deeper sharing, that people continue to feel they can talk about how they are doing as well as how their business is doing.

Since networking is about building relationships, please accept my gift of Top 20 networking tips by following this link: ebn.uk.com and complete the form to download your copy.

Have fun, stay safe.

Glenys

Recently I was talking to a business contact. He was quite annoyed because he had made a referral between two of his contacts. One, let’s call her Freda, he had known for a long time, and needed a supplier and the other, let’s call him Gilbert, he had known for a year or two and could have been that supplier. Why was my contact annoyed? Because earlier in the day Freda had told him that Gilbert had not been in touch, and it had now been over a month since the referral had been made.

When someone makes a referral, their reputation is on the line, and that needs to be protected. So, if someone makes a referral, we have an obligation to contact the person who may need your services, even if we think that you may not be able to do the work. And whatever the outcome I think we then need to contact the person who has made the referral and update them (I’m assuming that they have been thanked previously) and we need to do that in a timely fashion and for me that is within a day, or at the latest a couple of days, of getting the referral.

Now my contact has been embarrassed because he has recommended Gilbert, who has not bothered to get in touch with Freda. His relationship with Freda should be repairable, but maybe not. What has also happened is Gilbert’s reputation has been demolished because my contact will never refer any work to him, Freda will not refer any work to him, and both will be honour-bound to tell of their experience if Gilbert’s name gets mentioned.

So, when you get that referral remember they could have recommended someone else. Even if you don’t care about someone else’s reputation—which, in my opinion, is strange and unprofessional—remember that your reputation is on the line too. Make that call, send that email, because time is of the essence!

Have fun, stay safe