When it comes to virtual meetings and communication platforms, times have sure changed. While way ahead of their time, The Jetsons cartoons of the 1960s accurately predicted virtual meetings, tele-health, online classes, and video calls. But it sure took us a long time to get here. And even though video communication technology has been around for a while, it only recently became prevalent. It took a pandemic lockdown to make virtual meetings a true everyday occurrence for many. As the world has changed, so have the ways we act and interact on these platforms. So what about Zoom etiquette now?
Of course, I am using “Zoom” in the general sense. Video communication etiquette rules or standards would be the same across all platforms.
First a bit about the word etiquette
Etiquette is typically defined as a customary code of polite behavior in a particular society or group. Today, you might refer to them as agreements or expectations.
Etiquette has been codified for centuries and continues to change. (If you want a short and instructional read about its history, I encourage you to read this.) In times of change, rethinking and re-codifying the norms for acceptable behavior can be valuable.
So what should our Zoom etiquette be?
Behavior standards are both defined and refined by the needs and culture of your organization. In other words, the culture you have determines what behaviors are necessary to meet the needs of that culture. Even if the goal is to simply maintain the culture you already have. Clearly defining the cultural needs will help everyone understand the norms, standards, and agreements of meeting etiquette. While individual input is valuable, they should be based on getting great organizational results, not just personal preferences.
Common Components of the New Zoom Etiquette
In terms of “getting great organizational results,” there are some standards of effective Zoom etiquette that I suggest. Here are a few starting points.
- Webcams on. I know, some will say they have “Zoom fatigue.” But that problem is caused by too many meetings and isn’t the fault of the camera. Some will talk about bandwidth concerns (which may be a real concern). Others simply don’t like being on camera. The truth is the visual clues a camera provides offer a better chance for clearer communication. And clear communication is one of the reasons we meet in the first place. Everything else being equal, meetings will be better when people have their webcams on.
- Mute off. How many times have you heard “You’re on mute?” Every time that happens, it slows down the meeting and adds friction to the communication. If there is significant background noise or fifty people are on the call (which isn’t really a meeting anymore anyway), muting is helpful. But as a general statement, muting hurts conversation and makes meetings less effective. And perhaps even more importantly, people think muting themselves makes it easier for them to multi-task…
- No multi-tasking. Multi-tasking hurts the productivity of meetings, so why should we allow it? Besides, multi-tasking is a myth anyway. If this is a problem on your team (or for yourself), unmute and cameras on helps everyone stay focused.
- One conversation at a time. All the best in-person meetings abide by this agreement, and virtual ones should be no exception. Although, virtual meetings can use chat – both group and individual. Both make multiple conversations easier to have, and perhaps less obvious to the full group (in the case of one-on-one chat). Even with the reduced overall disruption, very much one-on-one chat isn’t helping the meeting (see multi-tasking above).
You might deviate from some of these based on the specifics of your organization. But don’t just dismiss them because you “don’t do it that way” or that “isn’t what we are used to.” Remember our starting point – getting great organizational results. If your meetings are great and there are no etiquette issues, you probably don’t need to implement anything new. But if your meetings and virtual interactions need to be more effective, consider these “Zoom etiquette” suggestions carefully.
Thanks, Kevin! I particularly was interested in Zoom etiquette. I notice that you did not include how to show up. I believe a rule of thumb would be to dress and appear as if you were attending in person.
I have participated in some doozies. I have had people (obviously) in pajamas, sweats, baseball caps, dirty, messy hair, etc. While I (somewhat) appreciate that they turned the camera on, I felt disrespected and unimportant. The exceptions to this, of course, are if when it is scheduled the person indicates that it is a tough time and that they will not be able to be on camera, or otherwise will be in a "tight" spot for themselves. For instance that they SHARED that they would be coming off of a workout, etc. You are then excused. Otherwise – show up as your best self. This includes appearance, energy level and preparedness to speak to the topic at hand.