Something happens the moment someone shares their screen to walk through a presentation. Their face disappears. The other participants turn into an audience. The content plays out in a straight line instead of being worked through together.
From that point on the meeting is over as a conversation. What is left is a recording with witnesses.
Reading and interacting are two different activities, and they work badly at the same time. A video call is built for the second one: a small group, live, thinking out loud. If what you have is material to be read, send it up front as a memo or a short video. Then the meeting itself stays reserved for the part that genuinely needs everyone present.
Calling a meeting is a responsibility. You earn people’s attention by arriving prepared and by having the right people in the room. Slides on the screen are often how that preparation gets skipped: the deck carries the meeting so nobody else has to.
The test is simple. If your presentation survives being sent as a document, send it as a document.
