Zoom Fatigue: how we can beat it
Hybrid events are here to stay but with hybrid events comes the one unavoidable downside of digital: Zoom fatigue.
What exactly is Zoom fatigue?
Zoom fatigue is a term that’s been coined to describe feelings of being overwhelmed, exhausted, and downright fed-up of communicating via Zoom (or any kind of digital event platform). It can affect participants who are in one long event, as well as people who are hopping in and out of different events in quick succession.
Why do we get Zoom fatigue?
Firstly, the screens. Yep, we know, we’re on them all day anyway, but usually our eyes are darting around the room, chatting face-to-face with co-workers or nipping off to get coffees. During Zoom events, we can feel obliged to stare at one spot, for hours on end, and it can be totally draining. The other element of Zoom fatigue is the fact event participants are effectively looking at themselves all day. It’s not normal and can make people hyper-critical, disengaged and, well, quite sad, actually.
The good news is there are lots of things you can do to ensure your event isn’t plagued by Zoom fatigue! Here are some quick tips:
- Make speakers slots short (ish) - ideally no more than 30 mins per speaker
- Schedule in lots of breaks, at least every hour and for a minimum of 10 minutes
- Mute everyone - it removes anxiety and awkwardness that can contribute to Zoom fatigue
- Give the go-ahead for cameras off - people feel weird about turning their cameras off so not many people do, but we actually engage better when we can focus on the speaker (and not fixate on the shape of our eyebrows)
- Same goes for eating and drinking on-screen - as soon as people know they can, they’ll feel much more relaxed!
- At hybrid events, mix up online speakers with IRL speakers, so people have a chance to get up and move around between sessions
- Do things a little differently - instead of having an online speaker just talking to the audience, why not try a Q&A with a live host? C’mon, it’s your chance to get creative!
