Mental Resilience: Zoom Etiquette- Maximising its use as a tool!

Ebony Ambassadors had her last Mental Resilience workshop for the year 2022. It was with a Cyber Security Expert; Lawrence Idem, a Pastor who loves God and married with three children/daughters, that hosted the Zoom meeting. He also uses Skype and Microsoft Teams. due to Skype been more popular pre-pandemic. Family Cyber Clinic is his YouTube channel to help parents enhance their skills so that they are up to speed with the rest of the world and the younger generation.

Why Zoom?
Zoom is now more popular because of the pandemic and Microsoft teams is enterprise/business bound. He stated that virtual meetings/events are an immersion of the real thing/scenarios which cuts down on actual time that was supposed to be spent. As such social interaction requires respect, etiquette, manners, undivided attention, mental resilience, and concentration.

However, over 80% of people who attend Zoom meetings, don’t come on camera and this not fair on the host because Zoom meetings lay down ground rules. If you don’t follow ground rules, you tell the host you don’t care about them. Zoom fatigue is a thing. We don’t like the format of the meeting hence we’re tired.
Therefore, he stated that we need mental resilience. Preparation is key. Be presentable.

For example, if you don’t want to be recorded you leave the meeting. Imagine going to a party and leaving your head behind?

Choose a good background so we can see you. It’s disrespectful when you eat, drink and don’t look presentable on a Zoom meeting. Give undivided attention. Don’t fall asleep. Try not to multitask. When you multitask, you’re not giving your undivided attention.

If you’re not prepared to speak, don’t attend the meeting. It creates a bad host-guest relationship.

If you use a virtual background, use a green screen. If you want to sound your best use a speaker phone, especially if you’re using your phone instead of your laptop. Get close to your microphone if you’re using a laptop.

Update tools you use to deliver meetings. If you host a Zoom meeting, don’t do it without a waiting room, breakout room or password. This will prevent lateness.

Don’t put meeting ID or password on a flyer. Zoom bombers can ambush the meeting and disturb it. The wrong people may attend your meeting. The host will be upset by uninvited guests crashing the meeting. Zoom etiquette demands that you show your screen. Don’t wear your pyjamas to a Zoom meeting, even if it’s at night.

If you don’t follow these rules, it will impact interviews and business meetings. You must prepare. Bad habits become bad behaviour!

However, in-person meetings are different. You wouldn’t multitask if you are in person. Virtual events can never replace in person events!

#ebonyambassadoruk #onlineworkshop #zoomworkshop