Andrew Mina

We’ve all been there… sitting in a meeting that hasn’t quite started yet.
Some people join five minutes early. Others arrive exactly on time. But those in-between minutes? They can be a missed opportunity.

This blog is about how to turn those in-between minutes into something people actually remember!

If you’re like me, you’re there before the meeting has officially started you’re met with all kinds of “pre-meeting energy”:

• Silence (for once, everyone is on mute)
• The host clicking away on their keyboard
• Background noise from a “hot mic”
• Light chatter
• And sometimes… music!

What is your preferred time to join a meeting?

Maybe already you’re thinking of your last meeting or the last memorable one you joined. What comes to mind for me are meetings that have a ‘pre-roll’. Those three to five minutes where they someone has curated the beginning of the meeting whether that be a video or music with slide deck.

I have joined meetings that have started with:

• “Roar” by Katy Perry (2013)
• “Happy” by Pharrell Williams (2013), and
• “Golden” from K-pop Demon Hunters (2025).

And you can be sure I almost always start my meetings with a soundtrack. I want to signify you’re here in the meeting and I want to grab your attention from your 27 open tabs (aka tab forest) and mobile.

Success on the charts

A simple pre-roll can shape culture, signal intent, and set the tone before you’ve said a word.

If you’re using music, keep these three things in mind:

• Keep it clean (no explicit lyrics – much as it is a ‘banger’, HR has enough to deal with!)
• Make it inclusive (culture matters – if in doubt ask)
• Match the moment (tone > personal taste)

If the meeting has externals, then the music choice may well differ.

Ensure you consider how long the pre-roll will be especially if you’re using free version of Spotify or Youtube as you may get an unwelcome ad break. Speaking from experience.

I get some organisations want to avoid offending or inadvertently creating a moment of tension and stick with ambient, lo-fi, instrumental and jazz lounge music and that is probably wise if it is already on your mind. However, as people leaders we need to think about our meetings bring people in to focus, help them engage, and make them feel welcome.

The time I had a hit

One of my favourite moments?

I started a process heavy meeting with the 1992 hit ‘Step by Step’ by Whitney Houston. As the song played I was speaking and wove in the purpose of the session between the lyrics. It turned a dry update into something people actually enjoyed… and remembered.

Now, this won’t work for every meeting, but what it was was a chance to take a knowledge sharing session that was not that exciting, if I am to be honest, and make it a joy and I was fortunate enough to co-presenter who was pre-aligned and was able to lean into lyrics of the song as we presented the content.

In the world of work there is also a stereotypes of musics associated with industries. For example: Scale-up IT business only play techno music and retail stores often hip and pop music. As much as this is mostly true they are intentional.

If you’re stuck and don’t know what to play before a meeting here are some not so good ideas and maybe you have a few suggestions:

• ‘9-to-5’ by Dolly Parton (1980)
• ‘Work’ by Rihanna (2016)
• ‘Manic Monday’ by The Bangles (1985)

If you are stuck or in a situation you need to be sensitive, then always lean into the ambient or jazz lounge playlist because you don’t want to miss the opportunity to shape the attendee’s experience.

And if all else fails… hit play on something unexpected like Spotify’s ‘Bagpipes Techno Mix’ this will really grab everyone’s attention!

What’s your go-to pre-roll?

I hope you fee encouraged to add music to your next meeting and remember most every event ir sporting event you’ve attended also starts with music.