“What if complaining about Zoom fatigue is missing the point? What if there is a window of opportunity for creating engagement in Zoom meetings that is going to close if we don’t jump through it?” ~ Craig Janssen
In The Startup, Craig Janssen writes, “[t]hose who adapt their leadership to the new digital reality are going to have a decisive edge.” In a recent article, he asks CEAVCO Audio Visual President Matt Emerson to weigh in on strategic ways to create virtual engagement in meetings and events.
(You can read the entire article here.)
In the piece, Emerson explains that “Zoom fatigue is real, and there is so much bad PowerPoint. Leaders have to get better at making sure the content is engaging. It’s easy for the mind to wander or for people to multitask. In general, we have to plan to deliver content in shorter chunks with more intentional breaks.”
Emerson goes on to say that “A virtual event requires just as much care and coordination as a live event does. You need to develop a ‘run of show.’ What’s on the screen when? How are transitions going to take place? How will prerecorded videos be delivered? A lot of the planning and skills we use in the four walls of a venue are useful in a virtual meeting.”
“Another thing people miss is bandwidth,” Emerson notes. “If you are working from home and have two teenagers watching Netflix or playing video games, it can create glitches in your feed. Or, if you happen to be traveling and the Wi-Fi is poor, you need to consider this and have a backup plan.”