How To Set Meeting Etiquette Rules As A Business Leader

Company culture starts at the top. As a leader at your organization, you set the tone for employees to follow when it comes to how everyone collaborates. A big part of that collaboration — especially for hybrid and remote companies — is what happens in meetings.

Every company has its own culture and that culture will determine what it means to run a successful, respectful, and efficient meeting at your organization. There are some important meeting etiquette rules that are more universal, while others will be developed over time and be unique to your culture. In either case, they ultimately determine what is appropriate, and what isn’t, during a meeting.

Some business meeting etiquette rules are about behavior during a meeting itself, such as active listening, speaking loudly enough, and being aware of body language. But it’s also about the guidelines your company creates around how meetings are formed, such as how many people can be in a meeting, if there are no-meeting days, or making sure each meeting has a distinct purpose.

We can help you with both aspects. First, we’ll take you through some meeting etiquette tips to remember. Then, we’ll show you how to define meeting guidelines that make sense for your organization.

8 Meeting Etiquette Rules to Implement in Your Organization

1 Be punctual 

Being punctual is one of the most important business meeting etiquette rules. It shows professionalism, respect, and proper preparation. This is especially important for leadership because when leaders tolerate lateness, it means that people may begin to take advantage of that. Most people will not and should not wait for you to arrive at the meeting if you’re late. It’s best to be in the meeting in advance so that you have some time to sit down and prepare for the discussion ahead. 

This applies to a virtual meeting just as much as an in-person meeting. Joining the video conferencing call a bit early is also a great way to get ahead of any potential tech issues, such as problems with your audio, enabling permissions for screen-sharing, etc.

For leaders with a packed schedule, part of your meeting guidelines (which we’ll cover later), can be leaving a five or 10-minute buffer between scheduled meetings so you have a moment to prepare and arrive on time.

2 Come prepared 

Set the expectation that meeting agendas are to be set far in advance, with time for the group to collaborate and make suggestions for items to add. 

You can easily add agenda topics to your Fellow meeting agenda by connecting Fellow to communication tools like Slack. If there is any kind of documentation that was sent with the meeting invite, be sure to brief yourself and familiarize yourself with the content so that you can actively participate. Make sure to write down any kinds of questions you have or topics you’d like to bring up before the meeting happens so that these things don’t slip your mind. If you’ve been asked to prepare anything ahead, make sure that it is accounted for so that you can feel confident and prepared. 

3 Ensure a quiet space for virtual meetings

Clear communication is essential in any meeting, but even more so in virtual meetings. Before joining the call, make sure your camera, microphone, and audio settings are all in order so that everyone can hear and understand you. Additionally, be sure to reduce any background noise that can interrupt the discussion, for example, by selecting a quiet area and turning your phone to silent.

It’s also important to speak loudly enough and clearly enough so that everyone can understand. Millennials and Gen Z tend to speak really quickly, as do leaders who are in a time crunch or have a lot to get through in a particular meeting. If this is you, slow it down to a pace that is easily understood by all. 

4 Follow the agenda 

Do not stray from the meeting agenda. Staying on topic is good meeting etiquette because it respects the time and effort that has gone into organizing the meeting and the topics that will be covered. Now is not the time to bring up other things that are not listed to speak about. This is going to save time and make your discussion more productive. 

If you notice you’ve drifted off-topic, take note of what it was and bring the conversation back to its main purpose. You can always revisit these side discussions at a later time with the people who are directly involved.

5 Be an active participant

Encourage employees to participate actively in meetings. As stated in Fellow’s Meeting Policy, create a culture of “being a meeting participant, not an attendee.”

As a leader, you can find a balance between actively listening and participating in discussions. A good rule of thumb is to listen at least twice as much as you speak, especially when there are a lot of people in the room. 

You may have the highest rank in the room, but all employees deserve a chance to contribute and be heard. A few ways to show the speaker that you are actively listening are through non-verbal communication, such as nodding your head, writing notes, asking questions, or contributing comments. Active listening means that when it’s your turn to participate, you won’t repeat what has already been discussed, and you can bring fresh insights, opinions, and contributions to the table. 

6 Give others the opportunity to speak 

No one enjoys a meeting where one or two people dominate the entire conversation. Give others the opportunity to speak and if you’ve just spoken, take some time to actively listen to others.

As a leader, a good time to contribute is when guidance and executive decisions are required. Write down any points that come up while others are speaking so that you can revisit your list and determine if they’re worth bringing up. 

7 Ask clarifying questions 

Asking clarifying questions is good business meeting etiquette because it shows that you are listening and that you want to properly understand what has been discussed. That said, make sure that you are asking questions at the appropriate time. If you’re facilitating the meeting, periodically ask if there are any questions.

If you are meeting over a video conferencing platform like Zoom or Google Meet, use the option to “Raise hand,” even if you’re the leader in that particular conversation. This allows attendees to be aware of a question but doesn’t interrupt the conversation. Avoid asking all of your questions at the end of the meeting because this can be time-consuming, especially if you’ve got a list. 

Think about speaking to the appropriate person asynchronously by scheduling a one-on-one meeting or shooting them a Slack message. 

8 Be attentive to your body language 

It’s important to be self-aware of your own habits and body language during meetings. It’s natural to become restless or bored, especially during long meetings. That said, it’s important to avoid things such as tapping or clicking your pen, fidgeting with your clothes, jewelry, or notebook, swiveling your chair or playing with different heights, tapping your feet, rustling papers, making quiet noises or humming, and last but not least, do not pull out your cell phone. 

While you may think these actions are harmless, they are often seen as rude and disrespectful, especially to reports. A good way to keep your focus is to take meeting notes and actively write down questions that you would like to ask.

In virtual or remote meetings, it’s important to pay close attention to your body language. Your nonverbal cues still convey a lot about your attitude and participation, even if you aren’t physically in the same room as your coworkers or clients. Maintain proper posture, sit up straight, and make eye contact with the camera to make sure you’re sending the right message.

Share this infographic with employees at your organization

Automate company-wide meeting etiquette with Fellow’s integrated Meeting Guidelines

The Meeting Guidelines feature in Fellow empowers company leaders to build healthy meeting habits at scale.

By installing this Chrome Extension add-on and the Fellow desktop app, meeting organizers are automatically prompted to book meetings with a defined purpose, sufficient notice, and the right amount of attendees.

Fellow’s Meeting Guidelines allow leaders to set rules around:

• If a particular day of the week is meeting-free
• How many people can attend a meeting
• Booking meetings with enough notice
• Ensuring each meeting has a stated purpose and agenda

With Meeting Guidelines enabled, employees receive a prompt if they try to book a meeting that falls outside the parameters you have set. It can also tell them how much money a meeting costs in terms of employees’ time, as well as if an invited attendee already has 20 or more hours of meetings that week.

Book a call with a meeting expert and see the feature in action.

Meeting templates to foster good meeting etiquette

Meeting templates play a crucial role in fostering great meeting etiquette. When everyone is on the same page from the start of a meeting, it sets the tone for a productive and respectful discussion. 

By using a template, you provide a clear outline of the meeting agenda, allowing participants to come prepared and contribute meaningfully to the conversation. This not only saves time but also cultivates a culture of punctuality and respect for one another’s time. Additionally, templates help establish meeting norms, such as assigning roles, setting expectations for behavior, and ensuring that everyone has an equal opportunity to speak.

Meeting templates in Fellow are a powerful tool for capturing and documenting key discussion points and action items. By having a standardized format for meetings, it becomes easier for participants to put healthy meeting habits into practice and carry them through to future meetings.

As an example, try Fellow’s Executive Team Meeting Agenda Template to run your meetings. These templates serve as guides, ensuring that every meeting follows a structured and organized approach.

Lead teams with impactful meeting etiquette

As a leader, employees will look to you to understand your company culture when it comes to conduct at meetings. Meeting etiquette rules hold you to a high standard of behaving appropriately and in a way that is also matched by your reports.

Don’t leave employees guessing — follow these meeting etiquette tips and use tools like Fellow’s Meeting Guidelines and Meeting Policy template to set expectations for your organization. When everyone is on the same page meetings are more efficient, more effective, and enable everyone on the team to get more done.

Meeting etiquette FAQs

What is meeting etiquette? 

Meeting etiquette is a standard of behavior that is expected while you are in the office or in meetings. Good etiquette includes being on time, being off your phone for the entirety of the meeting, providing a detailed meeting agenda, staying attentive, and avoiding interruptions. 

While these kinds of rules might not be necessary for more informal discussions, it’s good to keep this set of business manners in mind for more formal interactions, especially when you don’t know everyone in the room.

It’s also important that these rules are respected by all employees — from customer support to the C-suite. For leaders especially, modeling proper meeting etiquette sets expectations for reports.

Why is meeting etiquette important for business leaders?

Meeting etiquette is really important for several reasons. First, it improves communication between you and your team if everyone is adhering and respecting certain manners at work and in meetings. This standard of communication encourages an environment where every person respects one another, is heard, and feels comfortable sharing their thoughts.

Meeting etiquette also promotes higher productivity because central to these etiquette rules are coming prepared, being organized, listening, and taking turns speaking. This means the meeting time is being optimized most effectively. Lastly, it improves relationships within the working group because when people feel respected, it also enhances trust which strengthens those business relationships. 

How can a meeting policy help with meeting etiquette?

While meeting etiquette rules are all about behavior during a meeting, the other side of the meeting etiquette coin is meeting policies.

Meeting policies are the best practices your organization sets out for how meetings will be conducted. These have more to do with how meetings are organized than what happens during them. That includes guidelines around when meetings can be held, who should attend them, and how attendees prepare for meetings.

Unlike meeting etiquette, which employees should develop individually, meeting policies should be written down and shared with team members. It can be included in your organization’s shared documentation and presented as part of onboarding new employees.

In May 2024, Fellow hosted a C-Suite Roundtable with four leaders about how setting meeting guidelines has transformed their organizations. 

For Jeffrey Sullivan, the CTO at Consensus, creating meeting policies was all about having intentionality behind how meetings are run. He said Consensus’ documentation is about “explicitly defining your culture rather than allowing it to be defined by accident.”

Meeting policies are not only a blueprint for how meetings are run, but a defining puzzle piece of your company culture.