WEBVTT - Plan for latecomers

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to plan for latecomers. If you are

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<v Speaker 1>leading a meeting or other gathering, you can predict that

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<v Speaker 1>some people will show up late, So think in advance

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<v Speaker 1>about how you can welcome them and smoothly incorporate them

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<v Speaker 1>into the gathering that's already under way. So I sing

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<v Speaker 1>in the choir at my church, and from the loft

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<v Speaker 1>I have a great view of the congregation. In particular,

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<v Speaker 1>I can see that ushers tend to gently detain latecomers

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<v Speaker 1>until certain moments, when bringing them in will be less

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<v Speaker 1>conspicuous because the entire congregation standing or singing. Sometimes my

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<v Speaker 1>husband and kids are among the latecomers, because let's face it,

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<v Speaker 1>getting out the door in the morning is hard. Even

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<v Speaker 1>if the Sunday morning launch happens later than the weekday sort,

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<v Speaker 1>it is not as carefully timed, and if I am

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<v Speaker 1>singing in the choir, I am not home to help.

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<v Speaker 1>In general, people tend to drive to church once a

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<v Speaker 1>week or so, as opposed to school or work, which

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<v Speaker 1>happens more frequently. So people know the timing of course,

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<v Speaker 1>people are going to be late to church, so the

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<v Speaker 1>ushers have a system for greeting them when they arrive

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<v Speaker 1>and seating them in bursts. Latecomers are welcomed and know

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<v Speaker 1>just how to plug into the service. Their arrival isn't

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<v Speaker 1>a distraction from what's already underway. Meeting facilitators can do

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<v Speaker 1>something similar. Establish the norm of starting the meeting on time,

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<v Speaker 1>but also planned for the possibility that there may be

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<v Speaker 1>latecomers and know how and when you will incorporate them

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<v Speaker 1>into the larger group. You can start with the invitation

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<v Speaker 1>when you ask people to R s v P for

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<v Speaker 1>the meeting. Also ask people to let you know if

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<v Speaker 1>they anticipate being late so you can plan accordingly. This

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<v Speaker 1>subtly affirms the expectation that people will arrive on time,

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<v Speaker 1>since no one is going to tell you that they

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<v Speaker 1>expect to be five to ten minutes late, because well,

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<v Speaker 1>they always are. But if someone flags that they are

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<v Speaker 1>coming from a meeting that almost always runs over, or

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<v Speaker 1>they will be coming from the airport and so are

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<v Speaker 1>at the mercy of transit delays, you could know what

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<v Speaker 1>to expect and decide in advance what to do about it.

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<v Speaker 1>For in person and meetings. One option is to smile

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<v Speaker 1>and silently mouth good morning or good afternoon to latecomers.

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<v Speaker 1>They will feel welcomed and acknowledged, but your silence will

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<v Speaker 1>cue them that they should enter quietly too. This is

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<v Speaker 1>not the time for Hey, everybody, sorry to be late.

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<v Speaker 1>Traffic on the Loop was crazy. Did you see that

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<v Speaker 1>six car fender vendor by exit sixteen? You can build

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<v Speaker 1>in a point in the agenda somewhere around the middle

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<v Speaker 1>to recap what's been covered so far, to catch up latecomers,

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<v Speaker 1>and as a bonus, reinforce key points for those who

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<v Speaker 1>have been there all along. For video conference meetings, one

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<v Speaker 1>option is to use the waiting room and have a

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<v Speaker 1>designated point in the agenda. When latecomers are admitted all

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<v Speaker 1>at once. At that point you can greet them warmly

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<v Speaker 1>and let them know where you are in the meeting.

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<v Speaker 1>It's just like the ushers waiting to see people until

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<v Speaker 1>the first hymn. Of course, I know that sometimes doesn't

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<v Speaker 1>fit with the culture of the group, and let's face it,

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<v Speaker 1>you aren't going to let your manager linger in the

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<v Speaker 1>weight room if she is the late party. So if

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<v Speaker 1>you aren't doing a bulk admit you can do a

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<v Speaker 1>silent smiling wave or a message in the chat to

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<v Speaker 1>say welcome when you see someone new join. You can

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<v Speaker 1>subtly weave into your comments where you are in the agenda,

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<v Speaker 1>as in before we move on to item three about

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<v Speaker 1>the program evaluation. Does anyone have further thoughts or questions

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<v Speaker 1>to share about Tom's presentation? You have discreetly queued your

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<v Speaker 1>latecomer as to where you are, whatever the specifics of

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<v Speaker 1>your approach, We want to avoid two extremes. At one extreme,

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<v Speaker 1>an organizer allows latecomers to steal the show and the

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<v Speaker 1>planned meeting content is displaced. The fasilicator then has to

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<v Speaker 1>relaunch the meeting and regenerate momentum. It can be annoying

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<v Speaker 1>to those who arrived on time for the meeting to

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<v Speaker 1>restart every time a latecomer comes in. At the other

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<v Speaker 1>end of the spectrum. Also to be avoided is treating

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<v Speaker 1>latecomers as invisible. I mean this makes sense for a

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<v Speaker 1>big meeting of more than a dozen people, but not

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<v Speaker 1>for a smaller meeting. If a person arrives in a

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<v Speaker 1>meeting small enough that everyone is going to notice that

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<v Speaker 1>they came in, they deserve the dignity of a greeting.

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<v Speaker 1>If you are the meeting leader, welcome latecomers one way

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<v Speaker 1>or another. If you are participating in a meeting where

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<v Speaker 1>the facilitator doesn't do that, you can welcome the person.

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<v Speaker 1>A smile and a wave or a direct message can

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<v Speaker 1>go a long way to making the person feel seen

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<v Speaker 1>and not awkward. I think some meeting facilitators avoid greeting

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<v Speaker 1>late comers because they don't want to put them on

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<v Speaker 1>the spot, or because they don't want to make it

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<v Speaker 1>seem like it's okay to be late. But I don't

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<v Speaker 1>think either of these is a big risk. Greet them

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<v Speaker 1>and move on. It really is easier in the long run.

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<v Speaker 1>Do you have effective ways of incorporating late comers into meetings.

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<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear about it. You can reach me

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<v Speaker 1>at Laura at Laura Vanderkim dot com. In the meantime,

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<v Speaker 1>this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making

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<v Speaker 1>the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to

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<v Speaker 1>hear from it. You can send me your tips, your questions,

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