Devices in Meetings

Oct 23, 2018

I’ve been in the business world for a long time. For the first half of that time, no one brought computers into business meetings. And having your mobile phone out during a meeting was considered rude. Of course now, all that is commonplace. Especially since using a laptop or even a smartphone for note taking is so normal.

But I sometimes wonder whether going back to “the old days” wouldn’t make sense. This recent article lists many of the objections I still hold to allowing devices in meetings:  https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/03/success/meeting-laptops-phones-ban/index.html

To add a thought to that article, I still feel that using a tablet ink capability for notetaking in a meeting is a good compromise. Something about writing notes with one hand seems to leave enough awareness open for full meeting participation. In contrast, typing with two hands with a screen in your face does not. But that just might be me.

What is your opinion on this?

Michael