When the agenda is done at minute 20 but the meeting is booked for 60. Ten clean exits.
10 hand-picked excuses
01
Apologies, I have a hard stop in 5 for a customer call.
02
Need to jump for a parent-teacher pickup.
03
Have a 1:1 with my manager that just got moved up.
04
Joining an on-call handoff; will read the recap.
05
Sorry, doctor's appointment is calling me out at the half.
06
Need to step out to take a call from procurement.
07
Have a partner team review that overlapped today.
08
Headache catching up with me; need to step off camera.
09
Sorry, conflict with another exec meeting; following up async.
10
Have to grab a delivery at the door; will read the notes.
Or generate one
Click below for a fresh excuse.
FAQ
What's the most credible excuse for a meeting you are trapped in?
Apologies, I have a hard stop in 5 for a customer call. It works because it's specific, honest about the trade-off, and short enough that nobody has follow-up questions.
Can I use the same excuse twice?
Sparingly. Pattern-match is the enemy of plausibility. Rotate from the list of 30 on this page.
Should I post a written update instead?
Almost always yes. A two-sentence async update earns more trust than showing up silent on camera.