Who are you in meetings?

How to answerThink about how you usually are in meetings and go with your gut. Every type is someone a meeting can't do without.

Five minutes before the meeting starts, you're…
Skimming the agenda and lining up the one question you want to askOpening a fresh page of notes with the date and titleWatching the clouds out the window and thinking about lunchChatting with the early arrivals to warm the room up
The host asks, "Any questions?" Three seconds of silence. You…
Can't stand the silence and jump in: "I'll get us started"Tune back in just in time: "Sorry, where were we?"Look down and tidy up the key points one more timeRaise a hand: "I have a question, it might be a silly one…"
Two colleagues disagree and it starts getting heated. You…
Note both sides in two columns so they're easy to compare laterSmooth it over with a smile: "Shall we see what the data says?"Ask, "What problem are we actually trying to solve?"Doodle two little birds having a squabble in the margin
The meeting is now an hour over. Right now you're…
Mentally already at that café you're going to on the weekendQuietly working out which question the whole thing is stuck onSuggesting a five-minute break and fetching everyone waterThree pages into your notes, with the key bits highlighted
Your manager tells a joke that doesn't quite land. You…
Smile politely and jot down the next pointGet it a beat late, and laugh last but most sincerelyLaugh first and riff on itLaugh, then ask, "Wait, so what happened next?"
On a video call, what's usually on your side of the screen?
A sticky note with a few things you want to askA friendly face, ready to nod alongAn open doc and fingers that never stop typingA cat wandering past now and then, and your attention doing the same
After the meeting, someone asks in the chat, "So what did we decide?" You…
"I was just about to ask…" and go digging through the chat togetherPost your meeting notes straight into the chat"Good question. I'm not sure we ever actually nailed that down""Let me grab everyone for a quick five-minute recap"
Someone needs to take on a task and everyone's staring at the table. You…
Can't bear the awkwardness: "Fine, I'll take it!"Ask first, "What does 'done' look like for this?"Look up to find everyone looking at you… oh, it's you, thenWrite down the task, the owner and the deadline
Your idea of the perfect meeting is…
One with an agenda, a decision and notes sent round afterwardsOne where people ask questions and a real discussion happensOne that could have been an emailOne where everyone's having a good time and leaves laughing