In this current period in particular, most of our classes at the University and also for work take place online. For most of us, this is an unusual situation which can pose different types of challenges. Therefore, we talked to Keir Paterson who works in mental health and gave us some advice on how to keep a healthy mindfulness during online meetings and online work schedules.
What is your take on online „meetings“ at universities? Do you see areas where „excessive“ online appointments in academia differ from industry meet-ups?
I’ve never worked in academia, but I suspect some of the issues with remote working/reliance on technology are the same. I don’t think we realised how much collaboration happened in informal meetups, whether coffees or running into colleagues in the kitchen. While you can replace formal meetings easily enough with video conferences, these informal catch-ups are harder to replicate. Here are some ideas that might be appropriate for a university setting:
- coffee roulette – randomly allocate faculty members to set up short informal catch-ups over video
- “brown bag” lunches. Eat lunch together (with a screen in between). It makes for a less formal meeting
- changing the setting. I’ve found that taking my laptop outside for a meeting when whether permits, even if it’s sedentary, is less taxing than sitting at a desk all day.
Of course there is a balance needed between meeting time and so work, particularly for academics, with some people wanting/needing less interaction than others. And some of these ideas will seem artificial and awkward. But it’s worth experimenting to find out what works for individuals and the team as a whole. Also, these are ideas that work in an Australian setting – I don’t know whether these will work in the context of your national and institutional culture, but perhaps they could be adapted.
Can you recommend any specific strategies or (pedagogical) techniques for preparing a video meeting or lesson so that it is less hard on both participants and organizers?
Again, it depends on the setting. I can tell you some techniques that have worked for my organisation (doing remote mental health and people leader training):
- building polls and questions into Zoom. This is fairly easy to do using slido, kahoot, or similar online live survey platforms. It keeps people engaged and shows the result in real time (like a more sophisticated show of hands).
- live chat can help, but it adds cognitive load to the facilitator to have to monitor chat as well as present.
- in another place I recommended turning off the self-view, so you are not distracted by your own image.
- this might not work in a pedagogical setting, but we often have a need to check in visually with participants when delivering difficult content (suicide-related for example), asking a simple question can help check in with all participants. For example – just asking participants to go through the alphabet and name an animal, or book, or film using the next letter.
Where should I aim my eyes in order to build personal contact when addressing the group?
At the camera. It is very hard to do! We are used to making eye contact, which is almost impossible over webcam, and we look for body language (nodding, facial expressions) for acknowledgement that the other person is listening. This is all screwed up on webcam – we’re not looking into the other person’s eyes, there is often a time lag so that the reactions seem off. This is one of the reasons we end up in a heightened state of awareness and expression on Zoom, which leads to exhaustion.
During a Q&A session or discussion, if you don’t have to be able to view all participants, you can change the Zoom settings so that only the most recent speaker is shown. This can help approximate eye contact, but it still isn’t the same unfortunately.
Can you reduce the stress of a video conference by reducing the size of the group to pair the participants and then even encourage them to turn off the picture and just talk?
Yes definitely – Zoom actually allows for break-out rooms so participants can break up into smaller working groups and then rejoin in the main zoom meeting. It takes a bit of time to make this work smoothly, but it’s quite effective.
Can the screen image be used specifically to create a good atmosphere or sense of community?
I haven’t seen it! I think a more neutral background is generally more effective, with fewer distractions. I don’t know if a different background would work in a teaching setting, it’s worth experimenting. (An aside – the bookcase seems to have become the preferred background for TV interviews – for a laugh, check out @bcredibility on Twitter.)
How could writing (before, during, after) support a successful Zoom meeting without overloading our brains? Do you think thorough (written) preparation and postprocessing would help or lead to inflexibility?
It depends on the individual. I have psychologists in my team who are more comfortable being highly prepared and deliver their best sessions this way. Others prefer to improvise more and get energy from the interaction with the audience. Reflective writing after the sessions has been shown to reduce stress and assist learning, both for participants and facilitators, in the same way that keeping a journal can be an effective mental health strategy in a clinical setting. This is one of the problems with back-to-back meetings – it doesn’t allow for processing and learning after the session.
Do you have any thoughts about how to ground yourself after such a meeting?
It depends on the individual, but try and get out of the room, breathe and stretch. Spend 10 minutes away from a screen. I’ve been finding it helpful to go for a walk or run at the start and end of the day – even if it’s just a block. It’s like my commute and marks the beginning and end of the day. I find that has helped put some boundaries around my workday and mentally transition in and out of work.
Keir Paterson is General Manager, Workplace Solutions at mental health not for profit SuperFriend (www.superfriend.com.au), which aims to make every workplace in Australia mentally healthy. He has worked as an adviser for many of Australia’s largest companies in workplace rewards and retirement and has an MBA, post-graduate qualifications in communications and marketing and a BA (Hons) in Philosophy.
