Second Cup: Plan for latecomers

Figure out how to welcome people into an event that's already happening

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is to plan for latecomers. If you are
leading a meeting or other gathering, you can predict that

(00:26):
some people will show up late, So think in advance
about how you can welcome them and smoothly incorporate them
into the gathering that's already under way. So I sing
in the choir at my church, and from the loft
I have a great view of the congregation. In particular,

(00:48):
I can see that ushers tend to gently detain latecomers
until certain moments, when bringing them in will be less
conspicuous because the entire congregation a standing or singing. Sometimes
my husband and kids are among the latecomers, because let's
face it, getting out the door in the morning is hard.

(01:13):
Even if the Sunday morning launch happens later than the
weekday sort, it is not as carefully timed, and if
I am singing in the choir, I am not home
to help. In general, people tend to drive to church
once a week or so, as opposed to school or work,
which happens more frequently. So people know the timing. Of course,

(01:37):
people are going to be late to church, so the
ushers have a system for greeting them when they arrive
and seating them in bursts. Latecomers are welcomed and know
just how to plug into the service. Their arrival isn't
a distraction from what's already underway. Meeting facilitators can do

(01:58):
something similar. Establish the norm of starting the meeting on time,
but also planned for the possibility that there may be
latecomers and know how and when you will incorporate them
into the larger group. You can start with the invitation
when you ask people to R s v P for

(02:21):
the meeting. Also ask people to let you know if
they anticipate being late so you can plan accordingly. This
subtly affirms the expectation that people will arrive on time,
since no one is going to tell you that they
expect to be five to ten minutes late, because well,
they always are. But if someone flags that they are

(02:43):
coming from a meeting that almost always runs over, or
they will be coming from the airport and so are
at the mercy of transit delays, you could know what
to expect and decide in advance what to do about it.
For in perse and meetings, one option is to smile

(03:03):
and silently mouth good morning or good afternoon to latecomers.
They will feel welcomed and acknowledged, but your silence will
cue them that they should enter quietly too. This is
not the time for Hey, everybody, sorry to be late.
Traffic on the Loop was crazy. Did you see that
six car fender vendor by exit sixteen? You can build

(03:26):
in a point in the agenda somewhere around the middle
to recap what's been covered so far, to catch up latecomers,
and as a bonus, reinforce key points for those who
have been there all along. For video conference meetings, want
option is to use the waiting room and have a
designated point in the agenda. When latecomers are admitted all

(03:50):
at once. At that point you can greet them warmly
and let them know where you are in the meeting.
It's just like the ushers waiting to see people until
the first hymn. Of course, I know that sometimes doesn't
fit with the culture of the group, and let's face it,
you aren't going to let your manager linger in the
weight room if she is the late party. So if

(04:14):
you aren't doing a bulk admit. You can do a
silent smiling wave or a message in the chat to
say welcome when you see someone new join. You can
subtly weave into your comments where you are in the agenda,
as in before we move on to item three about
the program evaluation. Does anyone have further thoughts or questions

(04:38):
to share about Tom's presentation? You have discreetly queued your
latecomer as to where you are, whatever the specifics of
your approach, We want to avoid two extremes. At one extreme,
an organizer allows latecomers to steal the show and the
planned meeting content is displaced. The facilitator then has to

(05:01):
relaunch the meeting and regenerate momentum. It can be annoying
to those who arrived on time for the meeting to
restart every time a latecomer comes in. At the other
end of the spectrum. Also to be avoided is treating
latecomers as invisible. I mean this makes sense for a

(05:22):
big meeting of more than a dozen people, but not
for a smaller meeting. If a person arrives in a
meeting small enough that everyone is going to notice that
they came in, they deserve the dignity of a greeting.
If you are the meeting leader, welcome latecomers one way
or another. If you are participating in a meeting where

(05:46):
the facilitator doesn't do that, you can welcome the person.
A smile and a wave or a direct message can
go a long way to making the person feel seen
and not awkward. I think some meeting facilitators avoid greeting
late comers because they don't want to put them on

(06:06):
the spot, or because they don't want to make it
seem like it's okay to be late. But I don't
think either of these is a big risk. Greet them
and move on. It really is easier in the long run.
Do you have effective ways of incorporating late comers into meetings.

(06:27):
I'd love to hear about it. You can reach me
at Laura at Laura Vanderkim dot com. In the meantime,
this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making
the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to

(06:52):
hear from it. You can send me your tips, your questions,
or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook
and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod. That's b E the
number four. Then Breakfast p o D. You can also
shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at i
heeartmedia dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out with

(07:14):
all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward to
staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of I
heart Radio. For more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit
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