Conference calls and video conferencing are the worst. You can write off the first several minutes because you and your colleagues will be troubleshooting technical issues, checking that everyone can see what’s being shared on the screen, and struggling to mute or unmute yourselves.
And just as everyone finally gets stuck into some content, someone will inevitably crash in, apologise for being late, and the whole thing starts over.
Often there’s no pre-meeting agenda, so it’s entirely possible to attend a meeting without knowing what you’re supposed to contribute or get out of it.
Nor is it always apparent why some of us are in the meeting. We may be wasting our time spectating, when we could be getting on with something more valuable – like working.
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