Читать книгу Suddenly Virtual - Karin M. Reed - Страница 18

“How often do you turn your webcam on when in a virtual meeting?”

For years, Karin has asked that question at the beginning of countless workshops focusing on effective virtual communication. Participants were given three options:

 Never

 Every time

 Only when I see everyone else doing it

For many years, the top answer was overwhelmingly the same – “never.”

Since COVID‐19 and the mass migration to video collaboration tools, Karin has trained thousands of people on speaking through a webcam, and that formerly popular answer has changed dramatically. Only a handful of those in the post–COVID‐19 world respond that they never turn the camera on, and the number of people who turn the webcam on every time has steadily increased as the pandemic has worn on. However, the vast majority of workshop participants continue to opt for the third response: “Only when I see everyone else doing it.” They are responding to peer pressure for good or ill and not to the sound science and practice that suggests turning on the camera.

This small window into the adoption of video as a core component of virtual meetings is telling and reflective of a larger trend. Yes, more people are turning on their webcams than ever before, but there are still some barriers to adoption that hold back universal usage.

In this chapter, we will explore:

 How video became a viable alternative to face‐to‐face interactions.

 What value video brings to virtual meetings.

 How video impacts remote workers.

 Why video can be a critical element in meetings with external stakeholders.