Zoom fatigue?? Can we skip the video sometimes?

Because of the mental work of being online, let's be thoughtful about when we need video and when we don't. If we're listening to a webinar or exploring someone's PowerPoint we shouldn't have to be on video for that. A recent client confided that she was more distracted by seeing everyone's thumbnail and what different people were doing online.
Let's reserve video for discussions.
If I'm teaching, I can focus on strategies to keep my presentation interactive and allow participants to engage without video. I've taught many online workshops where I had my video on but no one else was on camera. I know my clients greatly appreciated this freedom. 

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© 2020 Laura Lewis-Barr all rights reserved

New York Times Article Discusses the Downside of Video Conferencing.

From my many years of teaching online, I'd say that changing the communication channels is key. Both webex and zoom (the platforms I've used) offer not only chat, but the ability to make annotations or move arrows on the screen. Combining those interactions with voice (and lots of chatting) has made my workshops dynamic. Without video (or video minimized) participants can, paradoxically, share more deeply, since they aren't seen. Using the text function allows anonymity which can increase honesty even more.

Here is the article.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/29/sunday-review/zoom-video-conference.html


 © 2020 Laura Lewis-Barr all rights reserved