Find Yourself Late to a Meeting? 5 Tips
So your late to a meeting. So what right? If you really cared about being there on time you wouldn’t have been late to the meeting in the first place, correct? Here are five tips to make things even worse. They work every time – guarantee it!
1. Don’t bother even preparing for the meeting. Don’t read the agenda that was sent ahead of time, or do any of the other pre-work you have been asked to complete.
If you happen to see yourself on the agenda and find yourself not prepared this is a good time to let everyone know that you have been so busy lately that you didn’t even have a minute to look at the agenda and prepare. Then explain that the reason you were late to the meeting was due to how busy you are.
2. If you are going to be late to the meeting, make sure no one knows. Giving the meeting leader advance notice that you might be late, or calling to say that you are going to be late is just too respectful and polite. Why would you want to do that?
If you have to notify someone that you will be late it’s a good idea to over-promise and under-deliver. In other words if you are really 20 minutes from where the meeting is taking place, say you will be there in 5 minutes. That way people are waiting for you longer, but know that you will eventually get there.
3. Let everyone know that you are late by making a loud entrance. This is especially effective if you can find someone else who is late who you can talk and laugh with while walking down the hall into the meeting and then while you are opening the door.
The benefit to a loud entrance is bringing attention to yourself and that you are late. Now the meeting leader can go back through the entire agenda and catch you up on everything discussed to that point.
4. Provide a real lame excuse as to why you were late for the meeting. Here are a few you might find helpful:
- “The bartender wouldn’t let me leave.”
- “Is it Spring forward, or is it Spring back?”
- “Is it Fall forward, or is it Fall back?”
- “Your watch must be fast…really.”
- “You should have told us to be on time.”
5. Ask lots of questions that were discussed earlier in the agenda before you arrived. It is important that you understand what you missed right? So asking lots of questions will ensure that though you were late to the meeting, you don’t miss anything. People will just have to understand that your needs and time are more important than theirs.
Question: Do you have any additional tips, insights, comments or stories on how to make it worse when late to a meeting? I would love to hear them. Please comment below.
Related posts I thought you would like:
Importance of Being on Time – Fun Leadership Story
8 Important tips to help you waste time in meetings
Funny Conference Call Video – What annoys you most about conference calls?
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