Many of us are spending days on Zoom these days. This has led to a new behaviour: blaming Zoom ( and other platforms) for problems with meetings.

For example, I hear stories about why people don’t turn on their cameras and stay muted. People aren’t attending a meeting if they’re off camera and muted. They’re watching tv.

What I know is meetings are far better when people connect to achieve an outcome. When working remotely, the best connections happen when people can see and hear each other.

Tell them you value the personal connection that comes with seeing and hearing them. Ask if they’re overwhelmed with back-to-back meetings. Do something fun at the start of a meeting, like an easy scavenger hunt or show-and-tell that has them turning on the camera.

Whatever you do, let’s stop blaming the tool as that won’t fix anything.

You’ve got this.