2020 changed work possibly forever.
Here are four video meeting rules that I think should follow us back to the office.
Say go ahead when you overlap with someone
Have you ever tried singing with someone over Zoom?
Me neither, but regardless, its not really possible.
The problem is lag.
The result: people talk over each other without meaning to.
Ive noticed a pattern an improvised etiquette thats evolved in response to lag in meetings.
Sometimes its another person entirely who follows up to check that everyone gets a turn, for example.
Still, the pattern is fairly consistent, and it works pretty well.
It’s free, every week, in your inbox.
And the best part is that many of the people doing this arent even aware of what lag is.
Theyre just responding to the limitations of the tech in a way that feels natural.
Theres no lag in real life, of course, but I think this habit should stick around regardless.
At least, theintentionbehind it should stick around.
Schedule time for socializing
Theres an awkward gap at the beginning of every video meeting.
This creates an improvised time for socializing, which makes video meetings more fun.
Some teams go further.
But you know what?
Offices can also be alienating and could also use some humanity.
Take a few minutes to see how people are doing its worth it.
The reality is that most meetings dont require my full attention.
Thats why I often have a meeting on in the background while I work on something else.
That only happens because I have the option of multitasking.
I think companies should attempt to keep some version of this alive in the office.
Theres a benefit to this sort of multitasking it can keep people engaged without completely bogging down their calendar.
Of course, this takes trust.
That kind of trust is important in a remote context its the only way the system can work.
Maybe just have fewer meetings
Remote companies tend to have fewer meetings.
For example: one team here at Zapierreplaced their daily standup meeting with an automated Slack thread.
This accomplishes the same thing a meeting would prompting reflection and keeping everyone informed in much less time.
This article by Justin Pot was originally published on theZapier blogand is republished here with permission.
you’ve got the option to read the original articlehere.
He loves technology, people, and nature, not necessarily in that order.
you’ve got the option to follow Justin:@jhpot.
You don’t have to.
But you’re able to.
