That's ok unless the person doing the droning is Senior Management, they tend to take umbrage at such interventions. They are usually the worst culprits too.

My usual tactic is "Boss, would you mind if I stepped out at (the nearest quarter hour in the future) as I promised to take a call from (some important clients name)? It will only take 5 minutes, but I'd rather not cause him/her/them any offence.".

I've found this brings everyones focus back to the here'n'now and wraps the meeting up sharpish. It can even score you a few brownie points for diligence.

Of course, you can't use this very often.


Well It's better than the Abottoire, but Yorkshire!

In reply to Re: Unsticking Stuck Meetings by BrowserUk
in thread Unsticking Stuck Meetings by dws

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