Before a meeting do your homework. Make sure you have read all the materials provided in advance, including the agenda. Find out who will be attending. Discover the purpose of the meeting, and focus your preparations on that. Prepare any comments in advance so you are not rambling and repeating yourself.
Arrive at the meeting on time or a little early. Nobody takes a late-comer seriously. Lateness is an affront to those who arrived on time. It conveys a message that you are disorganized, not that you are very busy.
Bring all the necessary materials for the meeting with you – agenda, paper, pens, notebook. Have them at hand so you are not fishing around while others are waiting for you to find something that should be in front of you.
Keep briefcases and purses on the floor. Do not put them on spare chairs or the conference table.
Don’t play. Leave the paper clips alone. Do not doodle or stretch rubber bands
Keep your feet on the floor. If you must cross your legs, do so at the ankles. Otherwise, you look inattentive and altogether too casual.
Make sure your shoes are polished and in good repair. Scuffed shoes imply a person who disregards details.
Keep jackets and ties on unless the person who called the meeting strongly suggests otherwise and actually sheds these items.
Don’t cross your arms in front of you. It communicates hostility. You want your body posture to suggest open-mindedness and approachability.
Sit straight and don’t slouch. You will look alert and attentive.
Maintain a high energy and involvement level, no matter how much your mind wants to roam. Meetings are a place for team players.
Enter the meeting room decisively, looking your best. Unless you are certain about how the seating arrangements work, ask where you should sit.
Shake hands with your colleagues. Introduce yourself to those you do not know and call those you do know by name. If you are seated and a new introduction is made, stand up.
Smile at your colleagues. It is the ultimate gesture understood by all people, and it does relieve stress.
Taken from The Complete Idiot’s Guide To Etiquette by Mary Mitchell and John Corr.