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I should be clear that I'm not like, putting this on the agenda. Client workshops are usually relatively small -- say, 4 to 8 people. Training classes are bigg

I should be clear that I'm not like, putting this on the agenda. Client workshops are usually relatively small -- say, 4 to 8 people. Training classes are bigger, but usually no more than a dozen or so because it gets unwieldy. I make sure I open the meeting a little early, and as people trickle in I make small talk. As more people join, this grows organically. I'm typically going to be working with a given set of people for weeks or months, so it's not at all weird to have these conversations, and we absolutely would be having them if we were in person. >It's even worse when he tries to force the issue I am not a moron, nor am I interested in making anyone uncomfortable, so the idea that I would use this approach to try and force someone to answer a given question when they're not interested in interacting is ludicrous. This isn't how normal humans operate.

JohnFen 5y ago
I wasn't accusing you of doing as this exec does, honest. I was just pointing out that we have an exec (the CEO, unfortunately) who is coming from the same place as you are, but is doing it in a way that puts everyone on guard and makes meetings even more uncomfortable than they otherwise would be.
- ubermonkey 5y ago
  Ah, ok. It's worth noting that the CEO is operating from a position that I absolutely do not have: everyone in that room works for him. I'm always an outside consultant. Nobody in the rooms I lead reports to me, so there's nothing loaded about making small talk. I have definitely seen management, and in particular upper management, fail to realize how alienating a faux just-folks presentation can be.