Hey folks,
So these days, it is very likely you are using video conferencing more than you ever have before – and perhaps more than you’ve ever wanted to! I appreciate that it’s not the same as “in person” and here are a few tips:
- Challenge your paradigm
- Stop thinking of f2f as “better” than video conferencing and instead think of these two ways of connecting as “different”
- When we make things good vs. bad – right vs. wrong – there’s a winner and loser
- When we instead recognize things as “different” we are likely to get creative, and also more likely to adjust and be flexible re our expectations
- Stop thinking of f2f as “better” than video conferencing and instead think of these two ways of connecting as “different”
- Turn ON your camera!
- Please – the reason we’re doing video conferencing is so that we can see each other.
- If you’re on a video call and everyone has their cameras off – consider doing a teleconference instead
- and…. if your camera is off, my guess is you may be more tempted to do other things and it really is better if you stay focused on the meeting you are in 🙂
- I appreciate that being on Zoom all day can be exhausting in a whole new way, so give yourself breaks, schedule your time based on priorities and “must do’s”, and consider your calendar carefully and intentionally
- Play with the technology
- Play with the system(s) that you use – get to know the features and options and feel free to suggest different things to keep it interesting and interactive (and feel free to connect with me as I’ve been practicing and playing with it for awhile – not an expert but learning)
- At the beginning of your meeting, ensure that everyone is ok with the technology i.e. where’s the chat box? how do you ask a questions? how do polls work? etc.
- Depending on your meeting size and the technology you use, if breakout rooms are available – use them – they create a more intimate and immediate connection between smaller groups i.e. 2-4 people
- Set some groundrules
- Just like in a f2f meeting, it’s useful to have groundrules when meeting virtually
- Work with your team to decide what’s important
- Just like in a f2f meeting, it’s useful to have groundrules when meeting virtually
Keep learning and playing and practicing! It’s fun!
