About

I am a programmer who became a manager of other programmers. Leading a team of 12+ developers means non-stop meetings: one-on-ones, team meetings, management meetings. Meetings all day, all week. Gone are the days of programming with noise-canceling headphones.

Six months into my management role, exhausted by meetings, I had an epiphany. I was talking too much. Some of my reports were talking too much. Some were not talking at all.

Meetings went over-schedule and agenda points were left unaddressed, as the usual suspects (sometimes me) hammered points home. While these interrupters and marathon speakers were being heard (and heard and heard), others were silent. Perhaps naturally reticent, maybe intimidated but certainly frustrated. I was missing their valuable input and they left meetings feeling disappointed and overshadowed.

I built the WhoTalks.App to get a grip on who was and wasn’t talking, including myself. I wanted to understand how long each person was speaking and in which manner (interrupting, monologuing).

The WhoTalks.pp is making my meetings more efficient, engaging, purposeful, and productive for all participants. I believe that it will do the same for yours.