Why I Started Muting Myself Mid-Sentence and Acting Like I Was Arguing With Someone Offscreen

It began as an accident. A glitch, maybe. My mic cut out mid-sentence during a meeting, and for a moment, I sat there, lips moving, hands gesturing, completely unaware that no one could hear me.

When I unmuted, Greg from finance chuckled. “You looked like you were arguing with someone,” he said.

So, the next time it happened, I leaned into it.

I muted myself deliberately. I narrowed my eyes. Shook my head. Whispered something inaudible before snapping back into the meeting like nothing had happened. They noticed. I saw it in the way their postures stiffened, in the nervous glances exchanged in the little Zoom boxes. The way Greg, always the talker, started waiting for others to speak first.

I escalated. Some days, I’d turn my head sharply, as if hearing a sound behind me. Other times, I’d glare offscreen, shaking my head furiously, mouthing no before unmuting and continuing like nothing was wrong.

“Everything okay over there?” Sarah from HR finally asked.

I muted myself. Stared just past the camera. Then, slowly, I nodded.

That night, Greg didn’t log off the meeting. I watched him watch me. He thought I couldn’t see him.

The next morning, Greg was gone. His little Zoom square grayed out.

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