Pub. 1 2019-20 Issue 3

http://wvcar.com WVADA 14 V ideoconferencing has become one of the realities of lockdown isolation. Although it is undoubtedly better than not having any communication with people outside your home, at some point, peo - ple get tired of video chats. Several factors make video meetings less than ideal: • People like variety. If the only way you can connect with other people is by using a computer screen, that becomes old fast. • Meetings can be glitchy. Speech transmission delays can cause you to unconsciously think that other people are not as conscientious, attentive or extraverted as they really are. Of course, the same is true in reverse. • Gaze duration can become an issue. Looking directly at someone for more than three seconds is something that most people only feel comfortable with if the person they are looking at is someone they trust. But during a video conference, when you are automatically less relaxed than you would generally be, the amount of time that you can look comfortably at another person is reduced. This problem subconsciously affects your on- screen interactions. • Participants are more self-conscious than they would be at an in-person meeting. You are likely to see yourself on the screen as well as the other people who are there. It is tiring to have to pay attention to the way you look as well as to what you have to say. There’s an element of self-consciousness that detracts from what you are trying to accomplish. If the idea of meeting in person feels like a luxury, that’s understandable: nobody has had many opportunities for that lately, when everyone is trying to practice social distancing. Watching videos of crowds seems like something from another time. But what are the benefits of actually meeting in person? Attending Events Safely