Exhausted by Zoom meetings? 9 things you can do differently

Some days feel like one neverending string of meetings. You already had a lot of meetings but now working virtually, the quantity has increased.

The amount of screen time is leaving you exhausted. There’s even a name for it: Zoom Fatigue.

Staring at a screen for a meeting is tiresome in a way that meeting in person is not. It takes more mental energy to stay engaged on video because we are lacking the body language cues normally present in person...

It’s hard to tell how people are feeling when they show up postage-stamp-sized on your screen. At times, you can’t even see everyone because some are on the second page. And, to save bandwidth, the resolution isn’t that good.

What this means is that our brains are severely limited because we can’t use the subtle physical cues when someone gestures with their hands, fidgets, subtly changes their facial expression, etc. In-person, we notice these changes with very little effort but instead, we are having to focus intensely on just the words for sustained amounts of time.

It’s exhausting...

No one is at their best when they are exhausted. We get sharper with each other. Anxiety rises. We feel disconnected.

And, our empathy goes out of the window at a time when we need more empathy as leaders, not less...

This leads us to rush to “just get it done”. It can also put us into fear-mode as we get overwhelmed with all that is on our plates. One problem with fear-mode as leaders is that in that space our thinking gets rigid. We are tempted to hang on to our idea of what should have been versus opening up to what is right now and what can be.

How do we cope with this energy-sucking video world we have found ourselves in?

Here are 9 ways we can improve our virtual meetings to reduce the energy tax for everyone while making them even more productive than in-person meetings.

1. Don’t Wing It

As a participant, taking the time to prepare for each meeting will create less pressure in the moment to respond and give you more mental bandwidth to pay attention to the group...

Many people skip pre-meeting work and show up to meetings blind. They aren’t always able to contribute effectively because they haven’t taken the time to think through the issues.

You’ll show up with more impact by devoting some time prior to the meeting to understand the issues being covered and how others feel about them, as well as thinking through your own position.

Pre-meeting work pays off doubly in a virtual meeting...

You can help others to prepare by sending information and agendas and gathering feedback on your topics or materials ahead of time.

One of my clients has been able to cut her meeting time in half by sending out slide decks to review ahead of time and only covering the changes that affect the whole group in the meeting.

2. Make It Personal

Making a connection early on with the participants can help them stay engaged. Arrive early and greet people. Call out people using their names and acknowledge it if you see people reacting during the meeting...

And most importantly, look at the camera when talking to create ‘eye contact’...

In a small meeting, you can move the window just under the camera so you can see the other people while seeming to look at the camera.

With a larger group, you’ll need to look at the camera directly when you talk.

It might feel intimidating at first to talk to the camera but it gets easier with practice...

When you are looking at the camera, you can’t see everyone’s faces to get visual feedback on what you are saying so imagine everyone engaged and interested in what you have to say. This will help you to have warmth and connection in your body language and voice which helps your audience engage.

* It’s good to look at the audience from time to time to make sure this is actually the case when presenting.

3. Show Them You

We can put our best self forward on video and show our colleagues we care by thinking of ourselves as on-camera presenters like a show host or newscaster...

First, we can help our team members by considering our background and reducing distractions. Some of us don’t have a lot of options where we are working in the house so may need a simple curtain or screen to block the view.

Where we sit also conveys engagement. Sitting on the couch creates a laid back posture that might not be the right message for some meetings...

Next, think of positioning...

It will project better engagement by positioning the camera at eye level to not look up or down at the camera. No one likes to look up someone’s nostrils or feel looked down upon.

And if you fill the screen well with your face, others can see your facial expressions and connect with you more easily. You can help others have eye contact with you by positioning your face at the top of the screen rather than the bottom.

Finally, it is worthwhile to take a look at your resting facial expressions to make sure you are conveying what you are actually feeling...

I once worked for a manager who scowled when I talked to him which led me to believe he hated my ideas. It took me years to figure out that it meant he was thinking. It was the good ideas that got him thinking, so the scowl was actually a good sign.

Once you know you have the right setup, turn off the Self View so you can focus on the other participants instead of self-consciously checking your hair and your expression.

4. Warm It Up

Ice breakers help to create psychological safety for the group so they can open up, speak more freely, and improve meeting flow. It also unlocks the advanced thinking areas of our brains, literally making everyone in the room smarter.

They also foster team culture and connection which is crucial when working virtually...

Ice breakers don’t have to take a lot of time. You can use breakout rooms for large groups. Try Mad Tea, a Liberating Structures method to improve teamwork, stimulate thinking about the project and issues, and release emotions about difficult topics.

5. Check the Pace

By using a facilitator for all online meetings, this person can call on people based on raised hands or a specific order, helping to make sure all voices are heard.

As the facilitator, consider slowing the pace down to allow for silence at times giving people time to process and take notes...

Slowing the pace can allow for everyone to follow the conversation better, find the right time to share their thoughts, and feel heard.

6. Honor the Energy

Everyone is running on empty these days. We can honor the fact that we are asking everyone on the call for their energy which is in short supply.

Anything we can do to reduce the energy demand of the meeting is a gift...

Think about shortening meetings, ending early when possible, and not scheduling meetings longer than 2 hours. We can give breaks every 50 minutes when they have to go longer than 2 hours.

One client’s IT department changed the default settings to 50/25 minutes for the company so that employees had a small break between meetings.

7. Prove You Care

As a leader, it’s essential to show engagement by being careful of the signals we send.

If it seems the meeting is not important to the leader, how can the rest give it their all?

Everyone knows it when someone starts typing in a meeting. Consider that if you start typing, the others don’t know why you are typing...

Are you on email?

Or taking notes?

Or shopping for dinner?

Taking notes on paper can take that doubt away and help signal that you care about what is being presented. Show your hands as an extra measure of assurance.

Everyone fidgets during a meeting because we need something to do with our hands. Have your own stash of fidgets at your desk so you don’t pick up your phone during the meeting and send the wrong signal.

8. Appreciate the Benefits of Video Meetings

Use polls and annotations to quickly gauge how people are feeling about a topic. Breakout rooms are brilliant for brainstorming sessions and discussion of topics...

Think about how you can incorporate non-verbal cues of agreement to speed up conversations.

It’s worth the time to set meeting norms and give people time to explore the tools as a separate discussion either at the beginning of the meeting or a meeting on it’s own...

Hand signals can help the moderator gauge the temperature of the group without having to stop to let each person speak.

One group uses thumbs up when they agree with someone and two thumbs up when they are enthusiastic. A delta sign can be used when the conversation is getting off-topic. And, Roman voting can be used to quickly see if more discussion is needed.

Research has shown that your audience can only pay attention to one person speaking for 10-15 minutes. When presenting for longer, you can plan to break up the time with one of these tools.

9. Celebrate Every Chance You Get

Most meetings can be started with celebrations to set a positive tone and recognize people for their contributions -- something that easily falls off in virtual teams. Get creative and find something to celebrate when you start your next meeting...

By leaving time at the end to wrap up the meeting, you can review what you completed and clearly line out the action items.

This gives everyone a sense of accomplishment so they can leave on a high note...

Large companies have effectively been run virtually for years but now we are seeing a revolution in how we can combine great facilitation techniques with video meeting technology. It’s opening up possibilities for how we do business...

No longer do we even need to fly across the country or globe for in-person meetings when they can be done as effectively or better on video.

By leveraging the advantages of video meetings so that they outweigh the potential downsides, we can capture the benefits and keep from burning out ourselves and our colleagues...

Let’s give everyone a break by creating effective meetings that energize rather than drain our energy by using new facilitation methods and technologies.

Tighten up your meetings and give people a break to recharge in-between...

Together, we can make meetings something people look forward to.