I had a similar reaction. It's pretty rare that you want someone to be surprised by what you have to say in a big meeting like that. Ideally, the goal of a large meeting like that is to say, "I've collected the data, we've had different workstreams look at the data, and having spoken to all of you, we've all agreed on X."

> People talk shit about office politics

Right... there are good ways to go about politics, and not-good ways. I think many of us see the not-good ways.