I suffer from excessive yawning syndrome and visit to physician was waste of time. My co-workers are sometimes annoyed with it. How rude is it (In Europe and US) to yawn in the middle of meeting? How to handle it?
The difference between winner and loser is making things happen and letting things happen.
Yawning is also a nature�s call. Nothing is wrong in yawning. I have seen many senior people (including CEO) yawning in running meeting � even I yawn during meeting. [ October 10, 2006: Message edited by: Chetan Parekh ]
I yawn in meetings within 5 mintutes. I dont care. That way the meeting can be terminated early and the discussion wont drag on. If i really feel like yawning i say " yawn " , if I want to terminate the meeting i say " YYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWNNNNNNNNNNNNNN ".
Originally posted by Bhiku Mhatre: How rude is it (In Europe and US) to yawn in the middle of meeting? How to handle it?
If you do it discreetly, while covering your mouth, and if you say "Excuse me" afterwards if you disturbed anyone by making a sound, then it's OK to do once in a while. If, on the other hand, you yawn with your mouth wide open, lean back in your chair, and stretch your arms over your head, it would definitely be considered an insult to the speaker at the time.
I don't think it's about getting more sleep. The reasons for yawning are still somewhat of a mystery. A common myth is that yawning is caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain. I'll have to dig around and find it again but I read an article a couple of months ago that said yawning is caused by a change in your bodies state. Going from asleep to awake, from awake towards sleep. Scientists noticed that people would yawn more frequently just before public speaking or a doing concert.
When you go to a meeting, your body is possibly shifting it's state from that of work and being busy to sitting still and listening which, according to the research, can trigger yawning. It has nothing to do with how tired you are, although when I am in a meeting, I sure do get sleepy.
Yawning is insulting if not "masked" (as EFH proposes). Your signaling that the speaker/topic of the meeting is uninteresting and boring. Im not saying that it's your intention - but that's how it is being percepted.
Remember to open a window and get fresh air. Remember to participate in the discussion and bring a glass of water/cola/coffee ect to the meeting. You could also try to get some excercise before you go into the meeting, e.g. run up and down the stairs a few times.