A simple way to remember more from your next important video conference.
I was on a Zoom call the other day - waiting for my 45 minutes ‘slot’ - and could see on my screen many of the faces of the people who were on the call
Some very important messages about the future were being presented.
But many were not 'getting' the message.
Instead of giving the speaker their undivided attention, almost everyone on the call at some time or another obviously couldn’t resist the temptation to check their phone or email.
Just to see what was happening - somewhere else.
Professor John Sweller of New South Wales University has spent a life time studying the impact of multitasking on issues that require substantial cognitive processing with a very clear conclusion.
We can't do it.
The fact that all their bosses and colleagues were right there on the same Zoom call with them didn’t make any difference. They still had to check. Because you never know. And they thought they could get away with it…
I’m not a Luddite - in fact I’d describe myself as an early adopter. But there is one big drawback to all this technology that leaves me very frustrated. It strikes me that at the same time as ensuring that none of us need ever again be out of contact with one another, it also does an effective job of actually distancing us from the rest of the world.
This constant checking of hand held devices results is what researcher on the subject, Linda Stone, dubbed ‘continuous partial attention’. It’s motivated by a desire never to miss an opportunity.
Some call it multitasking. And that’s fine when the tasks require little brain power. But if we don’t differentiate between those and the issues that require deep thought we may miss the big chance.
So does this obsession with being in constant touch make us more or less productive?
Does it help us to understand and deal with the key issues that affect our work and home life, or is it just a big distraction? The truth is we’re over-stimulated, over-wound and maybe unfulfilled. As Professor John Sweller has proven time and time again, in trying to process a never-ending stream of incoming data we risk missing the big picture.
Henry Ford once famously said that if he had researched the transport needs of people before he built the first car they would have told him they needed faster horses. It requires deeper thought to come up with something different. The answer is clear. Switch off the iPad and iPhone when you are on a Zoom and switch on your full attention. Because, if you miss the real message, all you may end up doing is riding a faster and faster horse.
A Luddite’s view of hand held communication devices? On the contrary. It is those who are addicted who run the risk of not being able to see the Model T.