Phone calls in meetings (Urgently calls)?

Question

From expierence, I have found that most people do not answer the phone in a meeting, even if it is an emergency call.
If they do, the other attendants of the meeting get annoyed.

They say that this is rude and interrupts the meeting, dispite this rudeness seeming to be of less priority than that of answering an urgent call.
It is a call that is such that one person can only answer it; the person in the meeting, and it cannot wait until after the meeting or during lunch/break time. Failure to answer will lead to disaster.

What is the phenomenon of most people refusing to answer these kind of calls in meeting, base up on?

It is based upon some form of selfishness, inability to understand the priority of the call or something that I have not yet heard of?

*This is a serious question*

Answer 1

"The most important person you are talking to is the person you are talking to now." (unknown author)
By taking a call, even an "emergency call", you are telling people that the call is more important than the meeting with them.
If you are awaiting an urgent call or if you have a phone on you because it is meant strictly for emergencies then let people know at the start of the meeting. "I'm expecting a call so I may need to step out." or "If my phone rings, it is an emergency and I will need to get it right away."
If you are known to be a person who is always on the cell phone or who says everything is an emergency then no matter what you say, people are unlikely to believe you.
It is not selfishness that has resulted in phone answering being banned. It is the lack of communication with people who are sitting right next to you and a lack of respect for others' time that has resulted in "silly" rules.

Answer 2

When you are in a meeting there are other people there. If you insist on being selfish and taking phone calls during a meeting you are wasting the time of all those other people. Why is your life and business more important than theirs? You should always turn your cell phone off or at least onto silent during a meeting. If any of my staff took personal calls on work time during a meeting, wasting my time and the clients' time, they would be looking for another position unless they had a very good reason. And what do you classify as a disaster? It would have to be seen as a disaster to everyone, not a minor inconvenience. And when you take the call, how do you know it is urgent? You don't, you are just making it obvious that you consider any matter to do with you as more important than the time of every other participant in the meeting, the height of arrogance and rudeness.

Answer 3

Americans highly value time. We don't like it if anyone wastes our time. I think, in the case of a meeting, while the other people in the meeting might understand that the call is an emergency call, the other people in the meeting don't want to have to wait while the call is taken. If the person steps out in the hallway to take the call, the meeting can go on and everyone's time is more respected.

Answer 4

It is a form of rudeness. How do you know that the phone call is truly an emergency situation? If it is, then the people in the meeting should understand. However, the person taking the call should excuse themselves from the meeting and take the call elsewhere. To do otherwise is incredibly rude, whether or not the call is truly an emergency.

Answer 5

It is rude to take a phone call while in a meeting. Your attention should be given to the people with whom you are directly interacting.

The ONLY exception I can think of would be the critical illness of a family member.

When I was faced with this exact situation, I got to the meeting early, took a seat as close to the door as I could get, explained my situation to the meeting leader and put my phone on vibrate. When the call came, I was able to slip out of the meeting and take the call, causing as little interruption as possible. All other calls I received during that meeting were sent directly to voicemail.

Answer 6

Tell them if u are expecting a call if you aren't put your phone on silence or turn it off nothing frustrates me more than people who don't use cell phone ettiquette. Talking loudly on them, putting people on speaker phone in public. talking on the phone while checking out, family members talking on the phone during meals etc.