Not another PowerPoint presentation!

The business meeting has seen better days. Whether at regular board gatherings or pitches to clients or staff get-togethers, the suit-and-tie set is about as focused as a roomful of toddlers. The quality and number of business meetings appear on the wane, say both participants and consult-ants. The suspects are usual and unusual: new technology--attention-sucking wireless gadgets that keep everybody connected to something other than what's happening in front of them--and that old feeling that precious time is evaporating. "At meetings and lunches, people are returning e-mails the whole time?" muses Matt Jacobson, vice president of marketing at Quicksilver Entertainment. "People have this false sense of urgency and it's getting in the way." Tolerance of in-person sessions is waning, in the face of digital alternatives. People are burning out on PowerPoint presentations that could have been just as easily e-mailed. Even gatherings of a lot of people in different locations are accommodated now by "Web seminars," so all can stay at their desks and avoid airport hassles.

By far the biggest enabler of bad behavior is the BlackBerry and its handheld cousins. The furious thumb-tapping is coming from more than the peripheral niche players at the table. "If somebody's boring me," says Colin Smith, public-relations manager with the Antenna Group of San Francisco, "I'm going to pull out my BlackBerry and use my time wisely." PDAs also provide a defense, says William Bottom, professor of organizational behavior at Washington University in St. Louis. "People are using BlackBerrys as a crutch to avoid conflicts that they should be having face to face." And there's the sheer sport of digital gossip. In real time, participants e-mail and text-message commentary about a colleague's remarks. Beware the boss next to you who professes to "just be checking in with my e-mail."

Corporate America seems to be heeding calls for etiquette reform. "We're on the verge of losing the most important element of the business meeting--the personal relationship," says Gail Calhoun, a communications consultant for Wells Fargo and General Mills. She says more companies are starting meetings with the movie-theater command: turn off all gadgets. Would-be violators are told to stand up and leave the room if they really need to send an e-mail. McGough Construction, a Midwestern contractor, pushes the leave-the-room rule a step further. Offenders get charged a dollar per ring and two dollars for "BUOB" (blatant use of BlackBerry). The money is used to buy refreshments.

•	Not another PowerPoint presentation! In the age of BlackBerrys and cell phones, the traditional business meeting may be just another relic Newsweek Magazine, Monday, May 9, 2005 Byline: T. Trent Gegax