In the Before Times, video calls for many American workers were a novelty — a rare occurrence you might encounter if, say, cross-country teams couldn’t get together for a presentation. Little thought was given to backgrounds or lighting, and certainly not whether your whole set-up might become the subject of critique online (thank you, Roomrater).
Nearly a year into the world’s embrace of remote work — more than 40 percent of Americans are working from home — and, oh, how times have changed. You’re not alone if you feel like you’ve been living through something like the five stages of Zoom grief:
In all likelihood, Zooms are here to stay, even if we wind up using them less frequently than we do now. So if you haven’t yet made peace with the reality of video calls in your work life, it’s time. Need some help? We’ve rounded up some of the best advice we’ve learned from 2020 about making Zoom calls less stressful, more effective, and — crucially — a little less omnipresent in remote work.
1. Less is more – consider phone calls, emails and other ways of communication.
2. Set up a dedicated spot for zoom/video calls..
3. Know your responsibilities as host and keep your attendee’s attention.
4. Stop staring at yourself.
I – Word Understanding
Novelty – new, unusual
Zoom grief – unhappy, tired feeling from using Zoom
Wind up – end up
Omnipresent – common; widespread
II – Have Your Say
1. Have you ever used Zoom? What are the tools / apps you use for communicating with others these days? Why do you choose those?
2. How do you prepare for a video call, personal or professional?
3. What are some of the issues you have encountered during video calls? What was done to solve those issues?
4. What is your opinion on WORK FROM HOME? Do you think it will become permanent?
