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How to prevent Zoom from becoming a glorified phone call

Your friends want to see your smiling face, so what should you do if they don't turn on their camera.

Zoom has made business possible during the pandemic, but not all Zoom calls are created equal. 

For example, you send out a Zoom invite to a colleague or client. When you both log on at the allotted time and you see only yourself because you’re the only one who turned on your camera. On top of that, the meeting you went through the hassle of scheduling becomes just a glorified phone call. Frustrating, right?

It’s beneficial for both parties to see each other during Zoom calls. During the pandemic, we’ve suffered from social isolation and detachment to a certain degree. 

With a simulated in-person virtual reality, you can establish rapport and trust when you can see each other. 

Body language is a huge part of interactions, up to 65% of communication is nonverbal. 

You can get a sense of someone’s feelings, intentions, objections by seeing through body language. You can respond accordingly. For a transactional business where it would be a phone call pre-pandemic, it isn’t necessary to have Zoom calls during the pandemic.

Your best chance in getting someone to turn on their camera for the Zoom call, it’s better to establish the expectation before the call. When you send out the invitation, you can include a note that says something like you’re looking forward to seeing them on Zoom. 

It’s been a while since you’ve seen each other and Zoom the next best thing. If you can, give an agenda for the meeting and reasons for the camera being turned on. You can’t assume that everyone is comfortable on camera. So perhaps, share a few Zoom tips about putting the camera at eye level, soft lights in front of them, neat background, or green screen.

When it’s meeting time and you noticed that they haven’t turned on the camera, you can something like, “Hey, where are you? I can’t see you.” Make sure your tone of voice is friendly and light. If they don’t respond, then you can say something like, “I’m a little confused, the invite said that it was an on-camera Zoom call. I can’t see you.” 

Then you have a choice, you can reschedule the meeting for a time that they’ll be on camera. Make sure you get a verbal commitment. Or you can let it go because you can’t force someone to turn on their camera.

Share your thoughts on my Facebook page: Blanca Cobb – Body Language Expert. Write a message on my timeline and I’ll get back to you. While you’re on my page, I’d appreciate it if you give my page a “like”.

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