The ABCs of Attending a Meeting

Hey everyone! Sorry for the delay in this post - it's the last week of the semester here in Prague and I'm slammed with papers, presentations and finals. Here's a post that I hope you enjoy!


Prior to my internship last summer, my only real employment experience, besides the occasional babysitting, was working as a camp counselor at a local day camp. The days were long, hot and stressful as I chased kindergardeners on the playground and rescued fifth graders from potential white water rafting disasters (but that's a story for another time). After two summers I called it quits; I wanted a job that would give me practical experience for post-graduation life. The transition from summer camp to cubicle life was way harder than I could have anticipated. There were deadlines, e-mails to clients and long meetings. While my internship challenged me in many ways, team meetings were initially far out of my comfort zone. 


Every week the marketing team met to regroup, discuss every member's current projects, suggest potential promotions or materials, and just maintain a current dialogue between everyone involved. I walked into my first meeting rather unprepared; I thought my role as an intern would be a passive observer, but my bosses expected that I contribute, too. The first meeting was intimidating - I had trouble translating the terminology fast enough and I didn't think it was my place to stop the entire meeting to fill me in. After the meeting, I walked with my boss back to our cubicles and explained how lost I felt for the past hour. Her response? "Well, why didn't you pause us to help clarify some of the issues that went over your head? You need to be just as in-the-loop as everyone else, even as an intern." I never thought that it would be acceptable for me to put the focus on myself in the meeting when everyone is always rushed for time and slammed with work. It took me a few more meetings to realize that the more informed I could be in the meetings, the more independent I could be with my work. One or two minutes in a meeting would actually save my bosses time later in the week when the information had to be applied in a project. It took practice, but over the course of the summer I spoke up more often and even offered up my ideas in our weekly meetings. I truly think that it was a huge factor in the efficacy of my work and it was an easy way to establish myself as an 'active intern' (i.e., not one that passes by on doing the bare minimum of work). 


Here are my ABCs of attending a meeting as an intern:
A: Ask questions! It is so important to be active in meetings, especially when you are exposed to a larger group of your bosses that don't deal with you on a daily basis and this is their main exposure to your level of participation. One minor caveat - if you think that the question will be difficult to explain in a reasonable amount of time, make a note of it and ask your supervisor when you have some one-on-one time. 


B: Bring a pen/iPad/laptop/etc. The first thing I noticed that everyone was carrying into the meeting was a notepad and pen. I sprinted back to my desk to grab one to fit in and it was a great decision. It made me feel a lot more professional and my notes were helpful to refer to later in the week. My bosses also tended to assign me projects during these meetings, so it was a great tool to be organized and not forget anything.


C: Contribute. It can be as simple as your progress on an assignment or, and this took me about two weeks to feel comfortable doing, offer your opinion. There were a few times when potential projects were relevant to my age group or interests and I felt confident in expressing my support or offering minor changes to the pitch. This can be hard to gauge, so I worked up by contributing a little bit more each week. 


Trust me, I could add D, E, F and G, but I'll keep it simple with what I feel are the three most helpful tips. 


How do you contribute in meetings? Do you ask questions, offer your opinions, or prefer to stay quiet?


Rebecca