Chapter8: HowtoWorkFasterinaRemoteTeam 82 important face-to-face contact, but the content of their meetings was ineffec- tive. “Since we didn’t set forth a specific enough protocol or purpose, the Hangouts wereunfocused,devolvedintoramblingdiscussionsaboutproduct,andended upwastingourtime,”writesformeriDoneThisteammemberJanetChoi.After consideration, they changed up the format to a more effective weekly show- and-tell session. 6. Think Before You Send Withamajorityofcommunicationonaremoteteambeinginwrittenform,you start to notice something about how you talk with your teammates: You put morethoughtintoit.It’s hard to just spout something out; you first must type it out, read what you’ve written, and then hit “send” or “publish.” Those extra little stepsaddahelpfulfiltertoyourconversations.Youendupthinkingbefore youspeak,yielding clearer and more concise communication. It’s probably no surprisethenthat“proficientwrittencommunicator”isamongtheskillswelook for whenhiring at Zapier. This is a tactic that can work for in-person teams, too. Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, for example, bans Powerpoint presentations in meetings. Instead, he requires