I’ve been doing a lot of video conferences since the shelter-in-place put me along the working at home.

You can really get a feel for people by watching how quickly they exit the meeting. People like Jeffrey bail the second it’s over. I assume he does the same in real life, up from the table and out the door the very second the last slide is finished. Others like Marcy politely express their extended gratitude for the opportunity. But most of the attendees simply vanish, mixed in with the herd of the others.

So in the spirit of keeping things awkward I found it enjoyable to stay on video conferences even after the presentation and/or discussion ends.

Like everybody says their thank yous and their goodbyes and then I just stay on the line. Watching the attendees drop off two by two, one by one. Typically the host the ends the meeting and I’m forcibly kicked off.

I wonder how many people notice that I’m just chilling there in the participants sidebar until the end days. Until the final, final last webinar call. Until my connection is silently terminated.

I wonder more if the host (or other random straggler like Kelly) thinks maybe I forgot to log off, or if I wanted to have a few more minutes of their time. Maybe to talk about how rude Jan was. Or maybe because I had something personal on my mind and needed to confide in someone. In anyone.

Some day I’m going to get the courage to blurt out “hello?” when it’s just me and another last caller.

And then make a hasty exit of course. 👍

#socialproblems