Application for Raise Hand Uncertainty
A meeting is in progress. The subject has something to add. The raise hand button exists for this purpose. The raise hand button has not been pressed.
Hearing Transcript: Application for Raise Hand Uncertainty Meeting in Progress, July 2022
CHAIR: We'll move to the third agenda item.
THE SUBJECT: [Raises hand]
CHAIR: [Does not see raised hand, continues]
THE SUBJECT: [Lowers hand. The point will come up naturally.]
THE SUBJECT: [Internal] The point has not come up naturally. The discussion has moved to a subtopic adjacent to the relevant topic. The raise hand button is available. The hand has not been raised because the moment for the point has not arrived, and the moment keeps not arriving, and now the meeting has twenty minutes remaining.
SECOND PARTICIPANT: Building on what was just said, I think the key issue is actually how we're thinking about the timeline.
THE SUBJECT: [Internal] The second participant has made a different version of the point the subject intended to make, in a manner that is more general and therefore less useful, but has been acknowledged by the chair and moved the conversation past the point where the subject's specific version would be additive rather than repetitive.
The subject's point remains valid. The subject's point is also, at this stage, less timely than it was twelve minutes ago when the relevant topic was being discussed.
CHAIR: Any other thoughts before we move on?
THE SUBJECT: [Does not raise hand. The moment has passed. The broader point has been made. A more specific elaboration would require rewinding the conversation, which requires explaining that the subject had a related point earlier, which requires explaining why it was not raised earlier.]
THE SUBJECT: [Internal] The explanation for why it was not raised earlier does not reflect well on the raise hand procedure or the subject's management of it.
The Governing Rule
The raise hand button is for the person who is ready to contribute at the moment they press it. The subject is always ready to contribute. The subject is rarely ready to contribute at the exact moment the relevant topic is open.
The gap between having a point and raising the hand to make the point is where the point goes when it is not made.
CHAIR: We'll wrap up there. Good discussion.
THE SUBJECT: [Internal] The point was good. The point is now part of the meeting that did not happen.
Post-Meeting Note
The subject sent a message in the meeting chat three minutes after the call ended. The message contained the point. Two people reacted with a thumbs up. Nobody responded.
The point is documented.