Читать книгу Digital Etiquette For Dummies - Eric Butow - Страница 36

Do you like to hear other people gobbling their food during an online meeting? (Hearing yourself eat may be bad enough.) Then consider that other people on your Microsoft Teams call may not like hearing your slurps and smacks.

Even if you turn off your microphone, they have to watch you, and we’ll bet you dollars to (ahem) doughnuts that you dislike watching other people eat as much as they dislike watching you. And if you’re eating and a bunch of lettuce falls out of your burger, that means you have to leave the meeting and clean up. Not very professional, don’t you think?

So, if you’re setting up an online meeting with Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or a similar app and everyone can see each other on their webcams, set expectations about food or drink ahead of time. Don’t assume (and we know the saying about the word assume) that everyone will adhere to the rules. Make it clear that there will be no eating of snacks, doughnuts, or any other meal during the meeting.

Should you ban drinks during online meetings, too? That’s harder to do because, in an in-person meeting, people usually bring drinks so that they avoid feeling parched, and they will push back against any directive not to have drinks. You still run the same risk of having drinks in a virtual meeting as in an in-person meeting, so be consistent — if you allow beverages in an in-person meeting, allow them in your virtual meeting, too.