Meetings from the car without being that person

Everyone has been on the call with the person in the car. Wind noise, a two-second lag, an abrupt 'sorry, one sec' and then silence. It is not just annoying — it signals that the meeting was not worth a room. Here is how to take the call without becoming that.

First: should you take it at all?

• Decline anything where you are the decision-maker. If the meeting stalls without your full attention, your full attention is the requirement.
• Decline anything requiring a screen. Slides, documents, and shared cursors are not driving-mode objects.
• Decline anything sensitive. Performance conversations, negotiations, and anything you would not want a passenger to overhear.
• Take the ones where you are mostly listening, or where your contribution is a clear verbal input you already know.

Audio is most of the impression

Bluetooth through the car speakers is usually worse than it sounds to you: cabin echo, road roar under your voice, and an automatic gain that pumps. A single wired or well-fitted earpiece typically beats it, where legal in your jurisdiction. Close the windows, turn the climate fan down a notch, and speak at a normal volume — raising your voice makes compression worse, not better.

Announce, then behave predictably

Say it once at the top: 'I'm driving, so I'm audio-only and I may go quiet in traffic.' That single sentence resets expectations for the whole call. Then honor it — go quiet when you need to, and do not narrate the road.

In riding mode, be a normal participant

When you are not driving, the excuses stop applying. Camera on is fine and often welcome. Watch three things: motion sickness while looking at a screen (sit facing forward, keep the horizon in peripheral view), bandwidth handoffs between towers, and privacy — a robotaxi is a small space and shared vehicles are not soundproof. For anything confidential, use headphones and type rather than speak.

The general rule holds in both modes: the meeting should not be able to tell you are in a car. If it can, you probably should not have joined.