Remote Working — How to Look Good on Zoom

Working Remotely

We are all on a steep learning curve with remote working.

As little as a few months ago, many of us had never heard of Zoom and video conferencing (now the old-fashioned word for remote communication) was something we avoided if we possibly could.

But as the COVID-19 pandemic has developed, huge numbers of people are obliged to stay at home and work remotely, and we are all turning to any virtual working tools we think might help.

Zoom

Tools like Zoom have become part of our daily routine, helping us to navigate unprecedented challenges and stay connected.

But remote meetings with laptops linked together through the internet is fraught with problems.

We often face issues with at-home bandwidth, buffering delays, undependable sound, tricky cameras - the list goes on!

We can rely on these tools to be unreliable!

Stay Close to Your Router

The closer you are to your router (the magic box that provides your Wi-Fi) the better your connection will be.

The internet is actually incredibly reliable, but the Wi-Fi in your house is never as good as a wired connection.

If you can see your router, people will be able to see and hear you.

Getting Messages Across

Even when everything works and we can all see and hear everybody, just the fact of being physically apart can break down our ability to get the message across.

It’s also harder to check that the message has been received and understood in precisely the way we need it to be understood, especially if people are talking over each other.

So, how do we navigate these challenges?

Face to Face

We all tend to communicate at our best when we can see each other; when we can see and read faces, when we're making eye contact and reading body language.

It stands to reason the most important body language during a video conference call is eye contact.

How Do You Look?

Look at yourself on screen first.

Raise your laptop to eye level so that you look like you're making eye contact.

Be aware of movement and distraction.

Don't do anything you wouldn't do if you were in an actual meeting room at work.

Dress as if you were actually going to an important meeting.

Use Names

Never underestimate the power of using names.

People just have to answer to them, just like most people will automatically respond to an outstretched hand looking for a shake.

Manage Expectations

A firm hand on the agenda and what the outcomes of the meeting are really will help people to settle into the new format.

Don't try to do it all in one go.

Remote communication is more tiring than face to face even once you're used to it.

Little and often with plenty of breaks will help people ease into this new way of working.

Make it Enjoyable

Keep things light and have a little fun along the way and your colleagues are more likely to relax a bit and become less anxious about the whole thing.

Keeping people focused and onboard is the key to success.

Impact Factory now runs all courses and training

• Remotely - Using Zoom and other platforms
• in-person - Safe, Secure and Socially Distanced
• Hybrid - Using cutting edge training and tech

Working Remotely