Research reveals NZ's loathsome meeting behaviours

  • 28/01/2016
(iStock)
(iStock)

New research identifies the meeting room behaviours most likely to grind New Zealanders' gears.

The research from Colmar Brunton concludes those who dominate meetings are generally deemed the most irritating of all -- closely followed by those who have a consistently pessimistic view on things and those who appear to be more engrossed in their phones than in anything being mentioned at the meeting.

Colmar Brunton account manager Jessica Balbas said while those three characteristics really got on Kiwis' nerves, they aren't the only ones.

"Other pet hates include 'The Bully', who wants everyone to agree with them, 'The Hijacker' who goes off topic and distracts everyone else -- and 'The Chatterbox', who talks too much and says nothing useful,'' she said.

Ms Balbas says while each person will have their own meeting preferences, those running them must be willing to be flexible to adjust to the preferences of others.

However, while New Zealanders seemed to have had ample experience with those types of behaviours in their own meeting rooms, they were less inclined to describe themselves in that way.

Of those surveyed, 29 percent of Kiwi workers described themselves as 'Wallflowers' -- the term for someone who has nothing to say -- followed by 'Fiddlers', who can't stop playing with papers or whatever else they can get their hands on, and 'Eager Beavers', who speak over the top of others.

More women than men see themselves as Wallflowers, with women also more likely to be 'Eager Beavers' in meetings -- but men are twice as likely as women to have an idea that will silence the meeting room, according to Ms Balbas.

Other meeting-goers that people said they disliked were 'The Parrot', who take their fellow workers' ideas and passes them off as their own, 'The Smarty Pants', who speaks unnecessarily in jargon or 'The Snail', who lacks a sense of urgency and is frequently and frustratingly late to meetings.

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