Assess your online-speaking awareness.

Review a Zoom/Teams/Hangout recording in which you talk a lot with camera on. Where do you put your awareness while you are doing the talking? Is it…

1) in your head? Eyes are targetless or seem to be searching for words in the space around you.

2) on your slides or other visual aids?

3) on the lens of your cam?

4) on what you are doing with your body? Facial gestures, hands, posture, etc.

5) on your listener? Focusing on individual faces on the screen and how they react to you.

1 & 2: Less is more.

3: I don’t subscribe to the notion that pointing your eyes at the cam is a good thing when your are in a conversation. Eyes are light receptors, not pointing devices.

4: is a good thing if you are making adjustments for the benefit of your listeners.

5: is crucial if you want to engage/relate/connect/bond with your listeners. More is definitely more.