Zoom Fatigue Is Real! Here Are Some Other Ways You Can Communicate With Your Team

Are you ready for this? There’s actually a thing called “Zoom fatigue”. And if you think about it… it makes sense, right? How many people do we talk to on Zoom every day? Who knows how many hours per day we all spend in front of our computer screens talking with clients, employees, or co-workers. It can be exhausting! So, what can we do about this problem?

Read on to find some ideas that can help alleviate Zoom fatigue and encourage positive mental health within your organization and team.

Audio-only meetings. The classic phone call!

You may want to consider implementing audio-only meetings in your company. This is a great way to take the pressure off by not needing someone to concentrate on the screen for an extended period, but it still allows you to connect with your team.

Since the person on the other end of the line cannot see you, it is essential that they can hear what you are saying clearly and vice versa. This means keeping your voice volume up, not mumbling into the phone, minimizing background noise (if possible), and using a headset with earbuds if available for hands-free use. If these guidelines seem like too much work — don’t worry!

Audio-only meetings should last around 20 minutes at most, and there will be fewer distractions from multitasking since no one has any visual stimuli to focus on but you talking. To ensure everyone’s time is used efficiently when scheduling an audio meeting, make sure you still create an itinerary as you usually do for a Zoom meeting.

Walk and talk meetings.

If you’re not already doing so, try to schedule walk and talk meetings with your team members — the benefits are numerous. It will encourage them to get outside for a change of scenery while also giving their brain some much-needed stimulation that can be lacking when they are isolated at home all day long.

As a bonus, phone calls often run more smoothly (and it helps get creative ideas flowing!) when people are walking rather than sitting in front of the screen.

The end of the day is when people are most likely to feel stress, anxiety, and even depression. At this time, people’s mental health can be at its worst — which you want to avoid if possible! Walk and talk meetings should help alleviate some of that pressure.

If a person feels disconnected from others on their team, they may need more social interaction so encourage them to get outside and call someone else on the team, even if it’s not for a formal meeting. This is much better than sitting in front of their screen during lunch hours and will promote positive interactions and team bonding.

Email/DM individuals in Slack

Email, Slack direct messages, and other asynchronous communication channels are a great way to reduce mental health issues in the workplace.

Asynchronous communication means that there is less pressure for constant responses or interaction with others. If you can encourage your team to use these tools instead of being available on chat all day long, they will have more time to focus on their tasks without feeling like they’re missing out on something important or being distracted.

Encouraging people to respond slowly also reduces the chance that people may take offense at offhand comments or misunderstand situations or instructions. Chat functions can be great for collaboration, but vital information can become buried, so it’s a good idea to use DMs and email for a project or task-related conversations that are one-on-one with each team member.

Record a video or a video animation

If you’re looking for a new way to engage with your team, then recorded video is the perfect solution. Not only does it provide an interactive experience that allows people to see what’s happening behind the scenes of projects or company updates, but it also offers more opportunities for creativity and fun! There are now tools such as Loom, which make recording videos easy with their drag-and-drop interface where you can record your screen or other tools like Meme Creator that allow you to create professional-looking animations or memes.

So next time someone feedback about one of your weekly meetings being dull, consider upping your game for the next time and producing an engaging and informative video. This is also a brilliant way to provide feedback that can be reviewed by multiple team members and referred back to if the message is particularly complicated or has several steps to follow.

Use interactive tools such as surveys/ Use an online whiteboard.

If you’re looking to keep your team engaged, then interactive tools may be the answer. They encourage collaboration and creativity by requiring input from individuals as well as giving a live view of what needs doing and when.

Using these methods of communication can stop people from becoming bored with their tasks or feeling like they have no purpose or input in the organization. People like to know they’re being listened to and their ideas appreciated — this is the ideal way to ensure this happens.

Not only that but being actively involved in a discussion or participating somehow is a surefire way of ensuring that the dreaded Zoom fatigue of meetings is alleviated.

So how can you make this work for your team?

Using a combination of communication channels is the best way to make sure that your team is engaged, involved, and not bored with the endless Zoom meetings.

Mental health in the workplace is a huge topic of conversation, and fatigue or burnout is a contributing factor to poor mental health that could be somewhat improved by switching up communication styles and being aware if this is affecting any or all of your team.

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Originally published at Upstack.co on Feb 27, 2022, by Joanna Blomfield.