Zoom away!

Although I’m not a technical expert on Zoom (yet?) like many people I’m using it a lot more now. Here are my thoughts on zoom in relation to communication. 

 

Like any medium, I suggest we need to be seen, heard and felt to get our point across and influence others. 

 

What do I mean by being heard? Literally, in the sense that can people hear what you are saying. I was in the same room as my partner Mark last night and he was on a group zoom call, where they were sharing poetry. Even though, it was an informal session, a lot of people were talking over each other, so I think it would have been better if the host made use of the mute/unmute function. 

And finally moving onto being felt – I’m not being weird, honest! I mean people experiencing your energy, presence, power and brilliance! This can absolutely come through in the on line world through your language, tone of voice and body language. Also, I think the use of the chat function adds an extra dimension to the experience. 

In my opinion, Zoom used well (or similar platforms) can bring a greater degree of communication and emotional connection in our business and lives. We may be physically distant, but we don’t need to be emotionally and energetically distant. 

Starting with the basics, can you be seen properly, in other words are you well lit? I say this because on some zoom meetings I’ve been in, it’s hard to see some people as they have a window behind them. A window in front makes all the difference. And if you sit close to the screen this gives others a better view of your face to pick up those nuances in communication. 

 

And can you see others well? Personally, I like the Gallery view for seeing everyone rather than the Active Speaker View. 

 

Also, can you be seen too much? I think the camera picks up more than in real life because at a face to face meeting most people often look at the person who is speaking, rather than everyone so I think we are potentially more on display in the virtual world. So any hair twirling, fidgeting or forgetting you’re on camera altogether can be easily spotted. I know for myself, I need to consciously stay relatively still as I have a tendency to move about. 

What do I mean by being heard? Literally, in the sense that can people hear what you are saying. I was in the same room as my partner Mark last night and he was on a group zoom call, where they were sharing poetry. Even though, it was an informal session, a lot of people were talking over each other, so I think it would have been better if the host made use of the mute/unmute function 

In my opinion, Zoom used well (or similar platforms) can bring a greater degree of communication and emotional connection in our business and lives. We may be physically distant, but we don’t need to be emotionally and energetically distant.