To Video or Not to Video
Video is now becoming more prominent, but is it a good thing in meetings or not?
Our productive devices (laptops, mobile phones, tablets, etc) all have cameras on them meaning we have the ability to take pictures and videos more frequently. Within the workplace this is giving us more opportunities and more challenges.
I work remotely from my team, either at home, in customer's offices or even in a coffee shop like I did the other day. At times it can be quite isolating versus working within in a traditional office set up but with the ability to add video to meetings it can help keep me connected to my team meetings no matter where we are.
However, this is a bit controversial for some people. Some love it and some hate it.
I posted a poll on Twitter the other day to see what others thought of video meetings and got really interesting feedback.
Do you think adding video to your meetings helps them be more productive or less?
— Sarah Lean 🏴 (@TechieLass) July 26, 2019
I've got a colleague that hates them as it stops him from multitasking and being less productive in his opinion. Personally I don't mind.
My opinion
I really like being able to add video to my meetings, it helps me when I am working remotely as it's nice to see some of my colleagues but I also think it helps the meetings be more productive.
Being on video stops me from trying to multi task or checking Twitter/Facebook/LinkedIn and makes me focus on the meeting and what everyone is contributing. It also helps to see visual cues, to see who is maybe trying to come off mute to contribute or see others facial expressions to what is being said so that the meeting is more productive. I find on calls that have video there is less people talking over each other and less of the dreaded "I didn't hear that can you repeat it" line because someone wasn't paying attention.
I don't think it's always appropriate to turn on video though. In small meetings it's great when you are collaborating and sharing ideas. For meetings where you have never met the other attendees it can be really good as well. But for larger meetings though where there are hundreds of people online or the focus is on a slide deck or demo it can be unproductive, as you find yourself watching your colleagues instead of focusing on the content of the meeting.
Overview
So there are use cases for video and it can help make your meetings productive but there are also times when turning off your video is also the productive option.
What's your thoughts? Do you love or hate meetings with videos?