You’re Getting too Close!

Have you ever had that feeling of being disturbed by someone in a ZOOM session – and not knowing why?

It happened to me recently with a translator of my session. He was appearing as a head only, even occasioning missing a neck. But his head was close, his eyes looming large at me.

Initially, I tried to withdraw a little – as I would in life – but of course, that didn’t work. Nothing changed about his perspective, no matter how much I moved. This is weirdness number one about ZOOM communication.

Because in an ordinary conversation – in a room together - it would never, ever be like this. I could withdraw, I could move, and my movement would satisfy my urge for appropriate contact and communication. In ZOOM, the only option I had was to ask him to change how he was looking at me. It can come across as selfish and unreasonable.

Anyway, multiply his troublesome perspective by another 3 or 4 people in the ZOOM session – it is not sustainable. It takes up too much time; it’s a reason for people to be distracted from the intended communication of the ZOOM…

But what if you set this up at the start? What if you took time to set your ZOOM protocols about how you want participants to position themselves in front of the screen? Of all the ZOOM sessions I attended, I can cite only one person who covered this in-depth.

Cathy Madden has spent most of the last year teaching on ZOOM from her home in Seattle. She could be called a “ZOOM Master” – someone who has not only mastered the art of teaching on ZOOM but has identified many unspoken, unseen disturbances that can occur.

These are things you don’t think about, yet they are unconsciously influencing you.

Great communicators manage to master the medium they are using – in this, it doesn’t matter what you are teaching. You need to understand how a lesson in ZOOM differs from a lesson in a Studio. And there are a lot besides what I have mentioned now.

Come along to Cathy’s session – one of the first of BodyChance’s 9-day Symposium. BodyChance has invited six of the world’s best Alexander teachers and asked them to share what they have learnt about teaching online.

You can read more about the content of the Symposium – and register – by clicking on the link below:

https://bodychance.mykajabi.com/how-to-teach-alexander-online