Remember those unexpected virtual meeting moments?

Did you celebrate the humanness side of colleagues?

Got your own favourite meeting “bloopers”?

As the world emerges from the pandemic, we look back on and congratulate people’s resilience and humanness in the virtual world.

Here, red10 ‘s  Kirsten Campbell and Paul Gaskell  share their favourite virtual meeting “bloopers”.

Paul appreciates the value of the mute button

Paul recollects joining a call with the Liverpool Football Club supporters’ groups.  Someone was presenting some slides on new ways of working, and several times you could hear someone say, ’This is terrible’, ’this is awful’.

It was rather uncomfortable that someone would voice their objections so loudly in front of 50+ people and interrupt the presenter – I think someone muted him in the end.

At the end of the presentation, the presenter asks for questions and the complainer has his hand raised. He asks his question, ‘did everyone else have a problem hearing the presentation?’

Turns out the terrible/awful comments had nothing to do with content and everything to do with his poor internet connection. Gentle reminder of the value of the mute button and maybe the chat function….

Kirsten gets stuck in a wetsuit

Some weeks back Kirsten’s Husband gifted her a beautiful custom-made wetsuit…

Kirsten recalls, when I opened it, I gasped at how tiny it looked and sighed thinking about the no returns policy on custom made items….  I hung up and waited for the right moment to “slip” it on.

Weeks go by. I stare at it, it glares back at me every morning, just daring me to try it on.

20 minutes to spare

A few more weeks go by.  It’s early morning and I am about to co-deliver a red10 Masterclass with 2 clients.  I have allowed plenty of time to prepare and find I have 20 mins to spare.  Best fill it with something productive hey!

There’s plenty of time to try it on

The house is empty, the perfect moment has arrived to give this wetsuit a whirl.

I strip down until I’m in the buff as there is absolutely no room for excess bulk of the clothing type, sadly I can’t do much about the other bulk in this moment.

I start pulling it on, contorting my arms to get in to the uber tight sleeves which create a vacuum as I pull it over my arms.  The sleeves further restrict my already limited movement and I notice that as I pull up the from the front fastening zip that my shoulder and arms are being pulled into a shape that is somewhat concerning. 

However, I’ve got this far and I am going for it, with a layer of sheen now appearing across all visible flesh. One firm tug and the zip goes up!! 

Relief it fits – time to go back to work

 You beauty! It fits – hoorah!!!  I perform a small celebratory dance (avoiding the backside view- of course).

Now time to get to my station as Masterclass is starting soon. 

I quickly unzip and start to get the wetsuit off my shoulders but…. I can’t… the mobility in my shoulders has been severely restricted and the weird vacuum in my arms means I can’t pull the sleeve up or down either.. the sleeves just inflate more with every tug in any direction.. 

oh no what have I done…

The sheen on my face has now developed into full black streams of mascara below each eye.  I can’t put my arms up or dawn to get the suit of my shoulders.

The reality that I am now fully trapped in the wet suit, home alone sinks in….. fast pursed by pure panic .. Ever got caught in a changing room trying to pull a tight fitting garment over your head- multiply that feeling of claustrophobia by 10.

Time is speeding up…. The Zoom call starting in a matter of minutes now…. I start to consider my options…

  • Pull normal clothes over the top but be unable to write on Flipchart and have to explain to participants….  
  • Call Husband at work and best case will take 20 mins to get home….
  • neighbour already be at work too….
  • Emergency services ?!?.. Firemen, in this state of exposed voluminous flesh literally bursting form the seams HELL NO!!!!

Breathe and Think

Thankfully… I remember to breathe and think, in times of disarray go inside.. there’s nearly always a solution inside

I look up and see the clothes hanger that the suit was grinning at me like the Cheshire Cat …. I jump up, grab it because my arm cannot extend that far now… manage to get the hook into the shoulder area, 1 good yank the whole thing comes off my shoulders and wriggle it off my back and then like some kind of warped twist of fate it slides off and plops to the floor as I am now drenched head to toe in a full body sweat… even my hair is dripping wet!

The show must go on

 In seconds flat face is wiped free of makeup, hair slicked back into a ponytail, clothes sticking to my body and … 

“Hi  and welcome to your influencing masterclass”