Well, this week I thought it would be fun to follow up on the last newsletter – To Zoom or Not to Zoom? (Click that link if you missed it!)

This article got a ton of feedback! And as a researcher at heart, (My first career was qualitative market research) that means I like to share the findings.

If you sent me an email, contributed to the LinkedIn conversation or left a comment on the blog, THANK YOU. And if you didn’t, why not? I’d still love to hear from you!

Anyway, back to the “findings”.

Most people who responded agreed – they don’t want Zoom meetings to go away entirely. They will be more discerning about whether to meet online or in person.

Without naming names, here are some of the comments that came in via email, LinkedIn and my blog. I grouped them into 3 key sentiments:

Intention

Hi Stacey – 100% agree with you that moving forward we all should be evaluating the need to be in-person for meetings / sessions / etc. vs some virtual platform.  There is absolutely value to both — but it’s not a one-size fits all situation!

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100% agree – let’s not meet in person just because we CAN. (I personally am not missing the time spent commuting to and from meetings.) Let’s be intentional about in person when it makes sense and put thought into what connection looks like.

Personal Choice

Stacey – To Zoom or not to Zoom…that is the question… the answer?  ZOOM! It does not mean I won’t attend some in person BUT, not many! I LOVE the zoom formats and as you say, we can reach people far beyond our backyard!

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Hey there! I hate zoom because no matter how efficient it may be, I need the human element, not a simulation. I never realized pre-pandemic, but most of the value I get from other humans is shaking hands, watching them, impromptu side conversations, comments, etc. Plus, I totally groove on the pre and post event dynamics. Count me in for in person!

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Oh my gosh, such a timely topic. I’ve been thinking about this as have most people on my Zoom calls. In reality, I DON’T want to go completely back to in person for all the reasons you list below. It will be interesting to see how all this shakes out, my take is that folks will realize that continuing to use virtual for certain meetings is a plus.

Time & Efficiency

I vote Zoom! No commuting and more efficient!

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Great article! I agree, and I think our new proficiency with technology and the realization that we can save so much effort and travel time for certain gatherings will ensure that Zoom has a place in our businesses for quite some time.

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Thanks, Stacey, for a well-written consideration of meeting in person versus Zoom! I’m so happy to read this as I have embraced teaching art to kids teens and adults online. Our business has doubled this year because people are looking for new and novel experiences online. We’re unsure what will happen next year after the restrictions of Covid ease. I do miss teaching in person, but teaching on Zoom has many advantages. Our class sizes are small and the students that attend want to be there which makes a difference versus teaching kids that are attending school everyday.

I do not miss driving to the location to teach. Nor do I miss setting up and cleaning up. A big plus for teaching art is that everyone can see my hands when I spotlight them in the Zoom meeting. When we teach needle felting to teens and adults we’ve noticed that people are less likely to stab their fingers with the needle because they’re not distracted by the person next to them  My hope, going forward is that our business teaches a mix of in person and online art classes.

Bottom Line

So, before you attend or plan your next meeting or event, ask yourself (and those you’re working with:)

• Why this meeting? And why now?
• What do you want to accomplish?
• Who needs to be there?
• Can you accomplish these goals by meeting virtually?

There is no reason to rush back to pre-pandemic normal. Truthfully we should have been asking these questions BEFORE the pandemic forced us online. Boring, bland, basic are default settings, not the only settings.

We have an opportunity to create something new. A format that works for each of us individually and all of us together if we’re willing to #shedtheformality and get curious about what that might look like.