Have you sat in a Zoom Meeting that you thought was not necessary? Zoom Meeting fatigue can be both physically and mentally draining for your colleagues. Before hosting a Zoom Meeting, consider these factors to help determine whether or not it is necessary.

Can it be conveyed in an email?
If the answer was yes, then consider sending an email update instead of hosting a meeting. Short updates and reports are often best sent in a format the team can quickly digest and move on to their next task. Unlike in-person meetings, where seeing each other physically can help maintain rapport, meeting virtually often does not build the same level of interpersonal support as there is often no opportunity to catch up with your colleagues one-on-one.

Is it going to take longer than an hour?
If the answer is yes, then consider breaking your session into multiple sessions with a break in-between. Virtual meetings over an hour are often difficult to stay engaged with, and draining for your audience. Splitting your longer meetings into shorter sessions on different days can be refreshing, and keep your audience members craving for more.

Are you engaging with everyone at the meeting or are you lecturing?
If you are not planning on engaging all of your meeting participants, you may want to consider using the Zoom Webinar product, or you may consider breaking up your lecture into short 4 to 8-minute videos that are segmented by topic. If you believe Zoom Meetings are the right medium, then consider ways to actively encourage engagement with all of your audience members. Polls and Breakout Rooms are powerful engagement features you can turn on for your Zoom account.

Did you just hold a meeting?
Unless your team’s job is to sit in meetings all day, meetings should be spaced out in a way that gives everyone time to mentally and physically recharge. For many teams, meetings are also often the least productive time on the schedule. If your team members need time between meetings to conduct work, make sure to leave plenty of space between your scheduled meetings.


Good Zoom Meetings when needed.

Successful Zoom Meeting hosts know that there are times when Zoom Meetings are necessary, and times when they are just not needed. When used properly, meetings can be a great way to motivate teams with encouragement and inspiration, and also powerful tools to help communicate complicated conversations. When misused, meetings can leave your team members dreading the next meeting and feeling drained.