Tips for Managing Video Meetings
Northwestern University’s Leslie Fischer offers Best Practices for Communication When Working Remotely
Zoom was something a plane used to do, and zoom! zoom! was a car. Today, more than ever, it is important to manage remote meetings effectively. We asked Leslie Fischer, distinguished faculty member from Northwestern University, for several tips on best practices for communication while working remotely. Share these tips with your friends and coworkers to keep the lines of communication open.
We’ve all seen the videos.
A group of people are having a Zoom meeting when all of a sudden, someone gets up thinking the meeting is over only to reveal to their coworkers that they are in their underwear.
You probably think that you are wise enough to not let your coworkers see you in your tighty-whities, but there are a lot of things you need to do to ensure you are communicating properly with your coworkers.
Follow these tips to ensure proper organization, ease of communication and effective use of all participant’s time.
1 Touch Base With the Team Beforehand
At the start of the day, make sure that the team knows what they are supposed to do for the day beforehand. They need to know what they are doing, who they need to be in communication with, and they need to understand the logistics.
Fischer says: “I think it’s pretty important to touch base with your team first thing every morning. Make sure that everyone is okay. Make sure that there is a mutual understanding of what needs to be accomplished every day. Setting expectations is really important.”
2 Put Yourself in the Best Light in Your Call
The pandemic is going to end eventually. However, there is a chance that there will be some long-lasting effects resulting from the pandemic. There is some speculation that even the common handshake will be a relic of the past as it is a quick way to spend germs.
Fischer says: I think people will become more comfortable and sophisticated with Zoom and more comfortable working at a distance. I anticipate that there will be long-term communication changes. I think that customs and habits will grow as a result, but those will be culturally defined.
3 Be Prepared for Long-Term Changes
The pandemic is going to end eventually. However, there is a chance that there will be some long-lasting effects resulting from the pandemic. There is some speculation that even the common handshake will be a relic of the past as it is a quick way to spend germs.
Fischer says: I think people will become more comfortable and sophisticated with Zoom and more comfortable working at a distance. I anticipate that there will be long-term communication changes. I think that customs and habits will grow as a result, but those will be culturally defined.
4 Anticipate Other Challenges
Having some spinach in your teeth during your Zoom meeting won’t be the only thing you have to worry about when trying to maintain solid communication remotely. While working from home, you need to anticipate what your challenges will be so that you can remain productive!
Fischer says: Our connections with others are mediated by the technology. We need to find a way to stay connected with each other while still maintaining privacy. I recommend distributing an agenda ahead of time. Let people know you want to hear from them. I think there is a real potential for authenticity in cyberspace, but we need practice.
I think compartmentalization will be an issue. One of my colleagues has a workspace at home where she sits when she’s actually working. How do we define where we work and where we spend time with family when all of our spaces are the same? I try not to turn on the television until after dinner.
Originally published at https://betterjobsearch.com on April 16, 2020.