Computers at presentations

There seems to be more and more computers going to presentations and various meetings. I understand that people use their computer to take notes, but what is frustrating are the individuals that seem to do everything else while at the meeting.

I go to a monthly meeting, and it seems that people do a lot of other things on their computer while attending that meeting. What these people don't understand is that they are distracting to the people around them because of the constant flipping between screens. If you are going to put the time and effort to go to an evening presentation, please respect other people's time as well. A lot of us are trying to pay attention to the presentation, but it is hard when screens are flipping in front of us.

I understand that there are times when you quickly have to move to something else because a thought has come to you, but it is the constant flipping between various applications such as Facebook, Twitter, and all the other applications people go to. Last month I noticed one guy that seems to spend his entire session working on various applications on his computer. It got so bad that I could tell you he was checking stock prices, and he was sitting a few rows ahead of us.

Computers are a valuable means of taking notes, but they should be used for taking the notes and not as a distraction to those around you. When at a presentation, remember, you aren't the only one that is seeing your computer screen unless you have a privacy screen on it. For me what I do when taking my notes at a session is at the bottom of the page, I have the other thoughts that have come to me during the session and then will put them in the appropriate spot after the meeting.

So next time you go to a presentation and want to take notes, please remember that the flipping of screens is distracting to others around you. Please keep your flipping to a minimum, and it will make a lot of other people happy.