05-05-20
The coronavirus pandemic changed the world. Everyone is going online.
Old ways of doing business have been disrupted. There will be no turning back when we believe virtual meetings and transactions are faster, cheaper and more productive than face-to-face interactions. Research shows that in a face-to-face meeting, people tend to talk more informally and imprecisely. Face-to-face communication is oral and usually no written records are kept. Such communication has low legal and evidential value. For online meetings, you just click the record button and the screen can be automatically captured. You will focus more on the meeting, less on note taking. You can also open a chat box and type into it. The other side can read your messages while chatting with you at the same time. Remember to text a funny emoji to make the atmosphere lively. You can even send a file to support what you are elaborating.
After social distancing and de facto self-isolation for many months, I start to enjoy, as much as I am used to wearing a mask, online interactions. Being alone is a source of great strength and relief. Many now caution against getting involved too much with humans in a face-to-face gathering as they can easily lie, hurt or spread virus. Computers and mobile phones are cold but faithful. “There was nothing wrong with not wanting—not needing—the constant jostle and noise of a party or bar or…whatever.” Human interaction can be just a bad thing.
Will online conferencing be the next big trend? Will online conferences create a more open world for people to talk, learn and make friends? Obviously, online conferencing can be faster, cheaper, more flexible and accessible. Some, however, still like face-to-face encounter. I believe the future will be a hybrid model—Some will attend physical venue and the rest will do it online.
The elements of an online conference are simple. You need a computer with a reliable internet connection, specific software such as Zoom, WebEx and GoToMeeting, audio such as a computer speaker and finally a webcam. For larger meetings, the computer screen is divided into many boxes and each represents a conference area such as reception, media centre, main hall and breakout rooms that you can go into.
How can one look great online? The camera’s focus is on your head up to shoulders. This part must be made neat and tidy. I have been told someone doing a wonderful online talk while he was actually lying in bed and wearing a suit of pajamas. The camera presents some truth but not the whole truth. The background colour and lighting are however important to make you look smart.
How to conduct an online meeting? Technical glitches such as delays are not uncommon. The moderator must be mindful that the participants have to be emotionally connected. He may ask from time to time if all are with him. He should ensure that the audience will not lose concentration. Also, avoid talking too long and too much. If one is leading the conference, he must recap regularly what was said and type key points onto the screen to catch people’s interest. Honestly, looking at a screen for more than one hour can wear us out.
When being online, one must bear in mind that effective interaction is the reason for success. For example, you must learn to talk slowly, precisely and less formally. We should not remove our customary behaviour from the ground and plant it in the virtual reality. I do not mean you should act differently or artificially. But, you must extract and relocate your best for a new medium i.e. the internet. For example, you may like clapping hands in a ‘physical’ conference but must avoid doing it in an online conference because people may consider it as an annoying noise.
I loathe the future which are full of threatening new technologies. I loathe a digital transformation of my life which I can no longer own. There are too many novel styles of living and working with the emerging tech tools. For me, money should still be a piece of note instead of a mobile application. I miss my innocent salad days: letter paper, aerogramme, postcard, postage stamp, telegram and paper fax…
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