Sorry, I was in the middle of a sandwich

By SMBWorld Asia Editors | Jul 29, 2010

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In a world that demands more to be done during the working day, a new survey from meeting experts Premiere Global (PGi), has found that more than 50% of professionals in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong multi-task during conference calls or web meetings.

Not surprisingly, more than 35% admitted that they had experienced an awkward episode as a result of doing too much at one time, like saying something embarrassing about another person or sharing a joke on their screen when they shouldn’t.

The survey that was commissioned by PGi in June 2010 asked a total of 1,000 full-time workers in these three markets about their meeting habits during conference calls.

In Singapore, nearly 60% of business professionals like to work on another task in tandem, go through their emails, or even chat with co-workers offline on an entirely unrelated topic.

Interestingly, respondents also admitted to watching TV (11%), reading the news (23%) and checking social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter (17%). Given Singapore’s obsession with food, it’s no surprise that 28% of respondents are happy to eat their way through a conference call!

Some of the most embarrassing conferencing moments for Singapore included:

• "Speaking in my native language and realized that the phone was not muted."
• "Didn’t hear that the question was directed at me."
• "Had a completely different conversation altogether because I thought I was talking to a different person."

Joanne Rigby, marketing director at PGi said: "Although the person on the other end of the line – or screen – cannot see you, it's important to participate and be engaged in the meeting as if it is a face-to-face interaction, especially when more and more of us are regularly conducting meetings remotely. Simple things such as muting your phone and minimizing your email and instant messaging pop-ups will help you to have a more professional meeting, and hopefully one that’s blooper-free too.”

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