Due to the pandemic, our way of working has changed. In recent months, having online meetings has become common to receive classes, work meetings, friends, and even the Church group or Salesian meetings.
No matter who you meet with, always stick to these rules:
- Take it seriously.
- Respect the presence of others and
- Take the meeting as if it were face-to-face.
Take care of your appearance
Choose your clothes, preferably collared shirts with sleeves. The more skin it shows, the more informal it is. Never show up in your pyjamas or show that you are messy; it would show your little interest in the meeting. Also watch your body language; the way you sit or show yourself on the screen, it speaks a lot about you.
Choose a good angle
Take care not only to see your face alone, as if it were a floating head. The correct thing is the framing where your shoulders are seen (like in a profile photo.)
Watch out for the background
Make sure your bed cannot be seen, if you are in your bedroom, or disorder if you are in a larger space. Definitively, remove the view of toilets, kitchens or something embarrassing itself, including other people doing other activities behind that can distract the attention of your online companions. Prepare the background. Preferably a smooth wall or a neat bookcase. Choose a space in your home that is your workspace. Symbols are particularly strong: If you are in a Salesian meeting and there is an image of Don Bosco at your background, it says a lot about you.
Pay attention
There is nothing more unpleasant than talking and the other person is seeing something else. Focus on the meeting; If you look away, let it be to take notes. Put your cell phone on silent and answer it until the meeting is over.
Turn off your mic.
When entering a meeting, say hello and mute your microphone, so the person who is leading it will be better heard and you will avoid embarrassment due to some noise that interrupts the meeting, especially in homes with children and pets. Notify people around you that you are in a meeting and that they cannot interrupt you by talking to you, handing things or laughing in the background.
Be polite
If you need to get up, you don't have to give an explanation as to why you get up, but you do have to excuse yourself in chat and turn off your camera. When you return, you turn it on again.
Ask to speak
Whenever you want to comment, ask to speak and wait your turn. Don't talk about someone else's comment.
Do not eat
It is very rude to eat while you are in a meeting, unless it is a gathering of friends and eating together was the reason for the meeting.
Respect the schedule
Be on time and stay until the end of the meeting. Do not leave without saying goodbye. If you are the organiser, keep in mind that several short meetings are more fruitful than one very long one. The screen quickly exhausts our ability to concentrate.
Prepare your meeting & participation
If you are an illiterate in digital technologies, take enough time to prepare yourself before your online meeting. Ask an expert to train you properly. Do not wait until the meeting to set everything, disrupting the meeting with your technical limits - how can I put the mic., how can I join the meeting...
Translated from the Salesian Bulletin of Don Bosco in Central America
Original article in Spanish: https://bit.ly/3mz47Cx
Don Bosco with Cambodian indigenous communities and beyond
