Top ten mistakes that make us blush
1. Forwarding an email to the wrong person (78 per cent)
2. Getting a colleague’s or client’s name wrong in a meeting (66 per cent)
3. Spellchecker resulting in the wrong word (64 per cent)
4. Accidentally deleting a document (57 per cent)
5. Being caught gossiping about a colleague (46 per cent)
6. Not attaching a document to an email (39 per cent)
7. Being drunk at an office party or night out (28 per cent)
8. Replying to ‘Reply all’ rather than just ‘Reply’ in an email (27 per cent)
9. An inappropriate crush on a colleague (25 per cent)
10. Tripping or stumbling whilst presenting a meeting (18 per cent)
Survey made by Post-it®Notes
Taken from Professional Manager Volume 14 Issue 4.
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Comments
What about when there are biscuits on a table in a meeting and you really want to eat one but you have to wait until an appropriate time. Not really embarrassing but still...
Or spilling a little bit of water when you come into a meeting then having to cover it with your papers!
Times when I want to interrupt a speaker only to realise later that my contribution would have been misleading or useless
You never want to be the first to eat a biscuit either. I dozed off in a meeting once. Think I was getting away with it until I started drooling.
I did hear of someone who arrived late, went into the room and sat down, only to discover after a while that he was in entirely the wrong meeting/room.
It's worth sharing these tales, if only so they can help us avoid the pitfalls.
Wasn't there a Chinese saying that the best thing to do when late, is to slow down . . . .
For me the worst is when you try and crack a joke in the office and it goes down like a lead balloon lol.
Going off on one for something you think somebody is trying to do E.g. take a member of your team, only to find you have completely misinterpreted their intent and now look like a completely uncontrolled, emotion driven lunatic.
I like that... so true. :)
Paul
One to add might be...
Having a phone conversation with someone you don't know well, cracking a few jokes and then realising you are speaking to the wrong, same named person.
I once attended a meeting (unexpectedly) with a colleague at the instruction of my senior manager. Because we weren't on the "attendee list", the secretary attempted to discreetly ascertain who we were.
She first asked my colleague her name and the organisation she was representing then turned to me and asked my name to which I responded. She then asked "and what age are you?" much to her horror and mine as by this time the whole room (circa 23 delegates) had fell silent.
I think this is usually described as a freudian slip?!
What's worse is that I knew the instant it happened, my colleague would revel in relaying this story to all the folks back at the office, which she did again and again and again.