Recently, I was in a meeting with several senior managers, the type I am not often in meetings with. I was in the meeting to provide some technical explanations as needed.

In situations like these, it is always a question of how technical to get, and how high level I should be. I can run down a technical rabbit hole fairly quickly, if given half a chance. In this case, I was concerned I would have several full chances.

As most of my meetings are now days, this was an online virtual meeting. Everyone calls in from their desks, and we share screens via the meeting software as needed. This is pretty standard.

The meeting was going and my chance guide a technical point came up. I waited until a pause in the question, and I pounced in and made my point!
The discussion resumed, and it took a tangent from what I said in an odd way. I piped up and said that is not quite what I meant. They talked over me.

I felt that they were not hearing me, not listening to what I had to say, but continuing with their assumptions. I tried to interject another point, and I was talked over!

The sinking feeling was happening in my stomach, all my brilliant insight was being ignored. They should at least acknowledge I said something. I checked the meeting screen. Yep, I had un-muted the software.

They just were ignoring me. This is my space, and my voice was not being heard. I grabbed my headset to ensure it was powered on and still plugged in, which I knew it was because I could hear the conversation through it.

I was feeling so dis-empowered, I was in the moment, my stomach was sinking and I knew my reality was askew.

Then my thumb brushed a protuberance on my headset. Whats this! Then I remembered. The headset itself has a mute toggle hardware button on it, I never use it, as I always use the software button. When I was putting the headphones on I must have inadvertently pressed it.

All of a sudden I am back in business. I realize I have just been talking to myself and people have not been ignoring me. Hope shoots from my stomach to my chest. My Frequency rises.

The meeting is almost over. I can salvage this. I quickly review the conversation and what I had wanted to contribute. I find an opening and make it into a closing statement that perfectly wraps up the meeting with me assigning action items. Perfect closure, from a near disaster.

After the meeting, I was taking off my headphones when my guide gently reminded me that a situation can change on a dime, and sometimes we just need to find the right button to toggle.

Have hope, have faith, and make miracles.