Types of People in Business Meetings

(Image credit: Getty, design by Katja Cho)

published 26 January 2016

The sweaty one

We get it—you ~~vape~~ trotted here because you take your work responsibilities very seriously. Or you stopped for a bagel on the way after sleeping through your 7:55 a.m. "GET UP NOW FFS" alarm. Either way, trying not to rustle mid-striptease or gasp like you have sudden-onset emphysema while everybody pretends they're not staring at you has got to be one of life's most awkward moments.

The one who talks a lot but doesn't actually say anything

Behind the "bandwidth" and "wheelhouse" and bluster, there's really not much intention to *do* anything. Isn't it weird, though, how they tend to stick around? Note to self: Learn the secret language of business-y word combinations, keep getting promoted, get elected to Congress, be like one of those old white dudes who's tight with all the super PACs.

The one who can't stay on topic

Please. No more about your 37-month-old's digestive system.

The one who eats

Not to get all schoolmarmish on you, but DID YOU BRING ENOUGH TO SHARE? No? Then get used to everybody looking longingly at your cake doughnut (when they're not looking at the aforementioned sweaty guy). Plot twist: The one who eats and the one who treats the meeting like his own personal monologue are the same guy.

The one you forget is there

But ends up filling you in when you're like "What just happened?" anyway. Being quiet ≠ not paying attention. Be more like Dave, which is invariably his name.

The one you forget is there until the end, when he starts asking 7 million questions

Did we just recap the whole meeting? Isn't it weird how we *did* just recap the whole meeting in the span of 2 minutes because some guy wanted to prove he was listening? So weird.

The timekeeper

Who sends the notes, which could have easily taken the place of the whole meeting.

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Chelsea Peng is a writer and editor who was formerly the assistant editor at Marie Claire. She's also worked for The Strategist and Refinery29, and is a graduate of Northwestern University. On her tombstone, she would like a GIF of herself that's better than the one that already exists on the Internet and a free fro-yo machine. Besides frozen dairy products, she's into pirates, carbs, Balzac, and snacking so hard she has to go lie down.