With the UK on lock down many people in business are networking online. This will often be through Zoom or Microsoft Teams. These are definitely the main 2 platforms we have been seeing for virtual meetings and networking events. In this blog post we would like to look at good manners on Zoom.
This research / findings are based on a large networking event I attended on Zoom a few weeks back. It was a networking group of over 40 attendees and each had a minute to share their pitch to the group. During this session I saw lots of bad manners on Zoom as well as good manners on Zoom.
Some people kept their cameras off during the event, and then popped them on for their pitch. What this told me, whether it was true or not, was that they were only interested in what they had to say to the group. What others had to say was not of interest to them. They could have been watching TV and listening out for their name, or they could have just gone for a walk.
Would you do that at real-life networking? Say your pitch then go off to do something else? Good manners on Zoom would be to actively listen to others, nod or smile to show you are interested in what they have to say.
Other attendees were logged into Zoom on one computer and then working away on another. This meant they looked at the Zoom screen for their pitch. However, when it was other peoples turn to pitch they were working on another screen.
Again, is this something you would do at a face to face networking event? Would you have your laptop out, look up for your presentation and then carry on with work once you had said what you want to? I would like to think you wouldn’t. But how is this then okay to do on a virtual networking event?
Then there is perhaps the more obvious stuff for good manners on Zoom meetings, which is often forgotten. Don’t forget to mute yourself. Nobody wants to hear your TV, children or dog barking instead of someone giving their presentation.
Just as you would in a real meeting – make sure you cover your yawn. Zoom meetings can be tiring, but you need to cover those yawns and look interested; even if you are hearing about the same business type for the 10th time in the session.
Good manners are always important. In real life meetings you don’t know who is watching you. In a Zoom meeting everyone could be watching you!
I hasten to add that I have not seen these bad manners in Zoom during my BNI Quantum networking meetings. If you would like to join us for some free online networking, just let me know!
