The Magic Mute Button
Every now and then I go on a rant about something that just drives me crazy. Before I got into management and leadership I used to look up to management like a bunch of people who were really successful because they displayed the qualities of maturity, organization and emotional control. When I actually made it to the executive suite myself I began to realize that a lot of these people were successful DESPITE having none of these qualities.
This fact is on full display in conference calls. It amazes me to this day what people will do during a conference call when everyone can hear them but not see them. All it takes is a quick tap of the mute button and all this background goes away.Instead I hear some of the following insanity. Tell me if any of these sound familiar:
- The classic “peeing” sound while using the bathroom
- Washing dishes while the CEO is trying to hear department status updates
- Chewing and burping while providing your status update
- Background sounds that sounded like pornography playing on the TV
- Loud radios and constant turn signals
- Loud background talking and constant arrival and departure updates from an airport
- Screaming kids or barking dogs
I have personally experienced every item on this list. It is one thing You may not always be able to hit mute before a screaming child or dog bark or a loud background noise, but awareness of your own surroundings should tell you you are bringing a lot of noise into a meeting and the mute button might be a good idea.
This has gotten worse with COVID and people who are not used to having telephone conferences are now in them all the time. Even in video conferences when people should realize they are being watched they are not paying attention to the speaker, spinning in their chairs and doing otherwise distracting things in a professional meeting.
In. my opinion, executives SHOULD demonstrate qualities of maturity , organization and emotional control as true leaders. Every one of your direct hires and coworkers watches you for cues on how to behave. What example are you setting?
What are some of the craziest things you have heard or seen in a conference call? Leave a reply and share.
Jason Kistler