Originaly published August 17, 2020 here.
“You’re on mute.”
– Pretty much everybody
You’re on a video conference call. You just finished a brilliant defense of your position. The other attendees are stunned into silence at your eloquence. Just before you take a virtual bow, you hear:
“You’re on mute.”
Mute. That isn’t the four-letter word you were thinking. You “un-mute” and start over, but your heart is not in it this time.
The flip-side to this is, of course: “Could everyone please mute? We are getting a lot of background noise.” which, of course, really means, “Who is taking a different phone call during this video call and could you please at least be subtle about it?”
We spent years learning in-person etiquette and most people, at least most successful people, have that figured out.
Then we spent a lot of time on email etiquette and OTHER THAN THE YELLERS and the reply allers, we’re doing OK there.
So, it will take us all a little time to get the mechanics and the etiquette of video conferencing down. Until then, be aware of the different ways you can mess up.
Can you hear me now?