Make believe you're on a plane; shut off electronic devices
Too many Village Council members and others in committees and groups are on their iPhones or Blackberries too much during the meetings. One can even hear the phones ringing on tv, while at home watching the meetings!
If you are so indispensable at 8 pm on a Thursday night, where you cannot even turn off your phones, then maybe you are too busy to be on the Village Council.
Same goes for many at daytime meetings but that isn't as bad as when there is a dais and all eyes are facing the dais. It's worse when a nervous citizen is standing before the Village Council dais and the council members are ignoring the nervous person and are fiddling with their phone instead.
Maybe we need to do what they do in schools, you put your phone in a box when you enter the chambers and then pick it up when you leave at the end of the meeting.
If you are so indispensable at 8 pm on a Thursday night, where you cannot even turn off your phones, then maybe you are too busy to be on the Village Council.
Same goes for many at daytime meetings but that isn't as bad as when there is a dais and all eyes are facing the dais. It's worse when a nervous citizen is standing before the Village Council dais and the council members are ignoring the nervous person and are fiddling with their phone instead.
Maybe we need to do what they do in schools, you put your phone in a box when you enter the chambers and then pick it up when you leave at the end of the meeting.
posted by Tom Falco at 12:01 PM
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15 Comments:
Amen, brother.
It's funny how some people want to be taken seriously and then act like that. I wish I was there to know who were the ones acting like that.
Perhaps you could spread the word that cell phones have an "off" button. Yes! You can actually turn the thing off! If you receive any important calls, they go to voice mail and the caller can leave a message. You also get their number in case you need to call back.
Apparently this is a well-kept secret. Do what you can to spread the word!
What they forget is that the meetings are televised and you can see them looking down at their blackberries and iphones when the video goes across the panel and even more so when it comes in behind them. Watch the next time they replay the meeting.
I like it!!!
It's everywhere, unfortunately. People need to be plugged in. I sometimes just watch how many people are using their cellphones as they drive through my High Pines neighborhood. It's almost everyone! Maybe it's just me, but I think it's so rude. Whenever I make a presentation to someone, the first thing I do is take out my cellphone and openly turn it off telling the person that there is no one more important than them to me for the next hour or so. I get a lot of business that way.
Lack of focus. We are telling our kids not to watch too much TV, play too many video games and then we, as adults, have the attention span of a gnat when we are in meetings, driving or dining. We think it's multi-tasking, but it's a need for entertainment. We get bored and want to find something else that interests us. I say we, because I know I do it, but I'm working on not doing it.
There's a relevant article in today's NYT about this EXACT issue.
The article leaves the problem unresolved; nevertheless, smart phones are a fixture in meetings. It's all about how to best manage their use (unfortunately).
If it's on vibrate and the person can multitask, no harm no foul. You often complain about people not coming to meetings or being a part of things, and now you want to exclude people who may have to monitor a situation while at these meetings.
Keep in mind, many people sit through the entire meeting for just one issue. Sometimes there's simply business that needs to be attended to, sometimes there's a sick child at home, and sometimes it just happens.
Should it be limited to emergencies/ issues of the utmost importance - yes. Should we have a draconian rule in place - no.
Someone had to take the counterpoint.
I was at a meeting last week, one person's phone rang about 7 times, very loudly, and that person really wasn't needed at the meeting. He was just there to observe.
To the local contrarian: we got along without rude cell phone for thousands of years. Your comment makes no sense at all.
Village Council members should shot their phones off before the meeting starts. If they are too busy for Village Council and need to be on the phone all the time instead, they should resign.
Yes, sometimes calls are important. Put your phone on vibrate. Most of the time these calls can wait. And they should. We don't want to be bored, so we text, answer calls... Because of this, we're becoming a nation of Paris Hiltons.
How about the person who doesn't know how to put their phone on vibrate and when it rings they answer it and loudly say - U cab;t talk, and distrub everyone anyway.
To Gifted above - just watch a televised meeting of the Village Council or better yet go to one of their meetings; all heads are bowed watching their blackberries. They give no respect to the speakers.
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