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If doing so while docked, 'Escape' skips the animation sequence and the audio.
I'm doing Smalltalk:
'Borderless Windowed mode' comes in handy as Alt+Tab to (eg) a website cuts the audio but lets you see how things progress, if you keep the website window clear of the subtitles. Similarly, while hunting for Smalltalk, you can do the same thing to pass the time while waiting for someone to start speaking.