WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) – Around the world, people are connecting in new ways both personally and professionally because of the coronavirus.
Video-conferencing apps like Zoom and online education platforms like Canvas are being used at an unprecedented rate.
For many people, these platforms are new and they’re looking for help navigating the professional digital world.
Sue Rachunok, of Design Interventions, operates a full time web design and marketing firm. Lately, she’s turned her attention to shooting quick, helpful videos aimed at helping people with Zoom and other video conferencing platforms.
“A lot of what we talked about was not necessarily how to turn on zoom, how to do your chat, how to turn your mic on and off, but we talked about etiquette,” she said. “When we all started doing email and somebody would type in all caps, it’d be like ‘why are you yelling at me?’ and if you don’t conform to kind of the norms of Zoom people kind of ostracize you for no reason other than you are ‘that guy.’”
Rachunok offers tips on how to maintain a sense of professionalism while in your personal space, including:
- Consider your space, the lighting, your audio and everything visible in the background
- Let others in your home know you’re entering a meeting and shouldn’t be disturbed
- Dress professionally
- Turn on your camera, but mute your microphone by default
“You are inviting people into your home who you normally don’t have in your home and you are in your home but you still have to put on the airs of being in a real meeting,” she said.
