What Message Are You Sending on Zoom?
By Carrie Cousins
Thank you to Valley Business FRONT for featuring our Director of Digital Marketing, Carrie Cousins, in their April 2024 issue.
Recently a job candidate came to the interview, and I never saw his face.
In another instance, someone was wearing a hoodie (hood up no less) during a meeting with people from multiple companies.
And in a one-on-one meeting, the other person chomped an apple while we talked social media strategy.
All of these meetings were online and beg the question: What message are you sending during Zoom/Teams/Google meetings? Do we live in a work culture so casual that body language can be disregarded?
Regardless of the reason, you are sending the wrong message to the person on the other side of the screen. No matter how much zoom fatigue you may be experiencing, it’s time to turn the cameras back on, dress professionally (at least from the waist up), and make virtual eye contact.
These things tell everyone you are meeting with that they are important and you care about what they have to say. And if you don’t … then why are you having the meeting in the first place?
Here are some of the unintended messages you might be sending.
- Camera off: I’m not paying attention to what’s going on here.
- Improper or casual dress: You aren’t important to me.
- Eating or having food/drink on camera: I’m bored.
- Pets on camera: I was too lazy to close the door.
- Turn around and talk to someone else: They are more important than you.
- Entering the meeting late: Your time does not matter to me.
Here are some messages you should try to send:
- Blurred background: I’m working from home or a busy office today and don’t want to create distractions.
- Unblurred background: I value authenticity and trust you in my space.
- Proper positioning: I took the time to prepare for this meeting by aligning my camera.
- Maintain eye contact (look at the camera while speaking and while others are speaking to you): I value your thoughts and time.
- Mute strategically: I understand there are distractions and noise in my space and I’m trying to keep those to a minimum.
Because video meetings can be efficient and make it easy to communicate with clients all over the world, they are unlikely to go away.
But you must be present and treat video calls with the same care that you would if you were meeting in person. Otherwise, you might end up like that candidate who didn’t turn on his camera – unappreciated and unemployed.
Carrie Cousins is the Director of Digital Marketing at LeadPoint Digital in Roanoke. For 15+ years, she has helped businesses tell their stories and get better results online with practical digital marketing strategies. She also an active leader in AAF, serving on the local and district boards, and is an adjunct professor at Virginia Tech.
