Plan Your Meetings

Cell phone etiquette

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Cell phones are ubiquitous and unavoidable but they can be very disruptive during a meeting. Here are some ways you can set expectations during meetings to make sure everyone observes simple rules of etiquette.

If a projector is used, display a message at the beginning of the meeting such as:

“As a courtesy to presenters and all meeting attendees, please turn ringers OFF or to silent/vibrate during meetings. Use of cell phones is restricted to the public areas outside of the meeting. Thank you.”

• You can also print this message on color paper and leave this page on top of handouts placed at every seat.
• If a registration desk is used at your event, hand this message to each attendee with their nametags. Don’t make the mistake of putting this message inside the registration bag since most attendees do not look at everything inside the bag until the event is over.
• When the moderator starts the meeting, make an announcement about cell phones.
• Since people tend to make phone calls and check for voice messages in between sessions, this cell phone etiquette message should be repeated at the beginning of every breakout session, plenary session, etc.

— Jackie Thornton

Jackie Thornton, M.S., CMP, is president of Global Marketing and PR Inc., which offers event planning, marketing and public relations services. She also has taught event planning certificate courses.