Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Conference Calls


With Global working model used by all Software dev/ IT companies conf Call are the norm, every now and then. You tend to have a conf call with yr extended teams in other part of world, maybe like twice a week or so. And everybody tend to use the best of their communication skills. Even humor is part of such conference calls, sometimes ppl just try to put a catchy line/small-talk joke which just lightens the normal serious mood of the Conf Calls
But sometime back a much more funnier thing happened.
We were discussing a new feature the other cross functional team has developed and we wanted to sync up on all the possible impacts. So a conf call was scheduled on a Monday morning.

Some folks including me attending the session from office directly and Some other folks who are in other location over the IP phones, including a teammate who is actually late to office but taking the call from home.

And the conversation went like this.

Convenor/Driver of the meeting: (calling him 'Rushal')
Rushal: Let's get started folks or are we waiting for somebody to join..?
No answers as such from room and from otherside that they are ready.
Rushal starts with setting up the agenda for the Call and chalking out what all he is gonna touchbase in the whole session.

Rushal: I am gonna give first a Introduction to 1 and 2 and then I am going to talk about the content dependent on 2 and its implications.

Phone beeps with sound of somebody joining the call.
Rushal: Hi, Who joined ?
Mayank(My teammate attending from home and taking the call from his mobile): Hi, This is Mayank from so and so team.
Rushal shares greetings and continues with his talk.
Suddenly some krrrr.. krrrr.. thud sound comes from the phone.
Rushal: (to extended team), folks what happened what is that sound. Are you still online, or you are dropping off intermittently.
Mayank: (telling innocently) I am getting some Carpenter work done at my house.
(He doesn't realizes that all that thud sound is actually audible to everybody.)


Mayank: Hi Can you tell me how to mute the Call.
Everybody In room:(Some whispering, Some Telling in their conscious minds) Just use the mute button on yr Landline or the options and then mute on yr mobile phone!

Rushal: use *06# to mute the call Mayank.
Mayank: ok thanks!
(I guess Mayank followed the advice and mutes the line.)
Rushal goes on telling about the new feature. In between he tries is everybody awake and not gone in open eye sleeping mode. :P
Rushal: Any questions as of now!
Rushal: Mayank are you there..? Ask me any doubts that you have around this.
(No reply from Maynak)
Rushal: Mayank you able to listen us...?
(Still no Reply)
Somebody from the crowd replies: Yeah, Mayank has muted his line.

Everybody joins the small laughter stroke. They couldn't just resist of visualizing Mayank Speaking/Shouting into the phone,"Yes I am able to get hear you folks!" :D:D

Conference call goes on further for nxt 1/2 hr and finishes off.

Mayank Reaches office in second half of the day.
He tells that he didn't realize that he is on mute and was actually munching in some words when asked by Rushal. Everybody tells that if you were on yr mobile you could just have used mute from options and all... Nobody is ready to control their laughs, remembering the whole innocent words of Mayank asking for how to mute the call...:D:D

Ain't sure that I have put this as candidly as it happened. But it was real fun seeing this all happening.
And don't tell me that i am making fun of my Teammate, I am not.
Monday morning Blues can be bad! :P

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