Workplace meetings are inevitable. They are needed to keep the team updated on new projects, work progress, company news, etc. However, there are at least 7 types of people who can turn a meeting into a long, boring, and ineffective event that no one wants to attend.

1. The Storyteller – that’s the person who never sticks to the point. The storyteller loves giving all kind of details and side stories reaching the point where no one else understands anymore what he is talking about. If not interrupted, that person forgets the time limits and can talk for hours. Usually, the other attendees stop following his stories after only a few minutes.
2. The Friendly Type – that’s the person who tries to create a positive and friendly vibe. He asks the other people about their weekend plans, he talks about the weather, the sports results, and his family. It is ok to keep it friendly, but it is not ok to spend 10 minutes on telling personal stories before getting to the point of the meeting.
3. The Always Late Type – the urge to visit the bathroom is the strongest right before the meeting begins. So are the thirst, the hunger, and the desire to check just one more thing. The Always Late guy doesn’t mind to make his colleagues wait or to interrupt the meeting by arriving late. Not only that he arrives late, but he will take his time to find a seat, to greet the people next to him, to check if his phone is on silent mode before he finally focuses on the meeting.
4. The Impro Type – that’s the person who has to speak at the meeting but hasn’t prepared his presentation. The meeting begins with 5 to 10 minutes struggling to set up all the needed hardware and software like a video projector, telephone conference call, etc. Next, the Impro type starts browsing his emails and files in front of everybody in the room causing awkward minutes of waiting.
5. The Meetings Lover Type – that’s the person who loves being in meetings. The Meetings Lover will schedule a meeting to discuss even a simple question, no matter if answering the question will take only a minute.
6. The Question Asker – The long meeting is finally about to end. Everyone is expecting the coffee break but then the Question Asker pops up. That person will make sure that the meeting will be prolonged for another 15 minutes by asking random questions that are related, or not, to the discussed topics.
7. The “Can’t Care Less” Type – that’s the most common type of people. It is identified by the zero interest in the meeting. That type of person would be looking at his phone or laptop ignoring the rest of the attendees. He doesn’t participate in the discussions and can’t wait for the meeting to be over. Let’s admit, most of us belong to “Can’t Care Less” type, but once it is us that run the meeting, we realize how annoying it is.

Are you annoyed by these types of people? What other types have you met? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.