To skip small talk politely I will usually use “Hey (person’s name) what’s going on?” Which I use for my daily post as well. I try to sound positive. This way I sound interested in them and not put upon.

I’ve always found this to be out of place at work. I get about 3-4 soliciting calls a day and they all lead with this line. All of our actual customers jump straight to business. “Hey. I was wondering if I could put in an order?”

I open with “Thank you for calling –. My name is –. What can I do for you today?”

During the riot on Jan 6, 2021 I had to get on a Zoom call. I could tell my coworker knew what was going on, but everyone was oblivious.

I had to give a demo and act like my government might not be there when I was done.

Feels about the same every day this year.

Eh, it’s a living

It’s not just you. I might ask someone how they’re doing during a work call, but that’s dependent upon my familiarity with the person. If we actually know each other on a friendly level, that’s one thing.

However I despise being asked that question by basically anyone else. They don’t actually want to know. I don’t actually want to tell them. Why are we wasting time on BS? Just get to the point, please.

Especially when the call is unplanned. If you’re calling me during a work day and we hadn’t previously discussed anything over email or IM, then that calls needs to be about something pressing. If it’s about something important enough to interrupt me and demand my immediate attention, then we don’t need to waste time on pleasantries.