I got it wrong the first time and probably the second time too. I’ll likely get it wrong again, so here I am writing a reminder to future me.
A beloved colleague died unexpectedly. The email came the same day, evening for me, direct, no euphemisms. The video call was set for the next afternoon, late enough that people had a night to sit with it before they had to be on camera together. Someone senior said her name out loud and then let the silence sit instead of filling it. By every measure I’d use later to judge how this should go, it was done right.