Reducing User Anxiety is a Key to Driving Adoption of Videoconferencing — Let’s Do Video

Those of us who have been using videoconferencing day-in and day-out for decades, often forget what it is like to be a video newbie, and the anxiety that can come with using a videoconferencing systems for the first time.

Most people who are new to videoconferencing naturally worry about the technology when getting started. Videoconferencing can be expensive and unfamiliar and users worry about breaking “the system.” They can also be self-conscious about the possibility of being embarrassed in front of their colleagues when trying to operate the system, cameras, etc. People new to video meetings also worry that this new fangled tech will not work when they need it the most.

Couple those worries with the inherent nervousness that we all feel when seeing yourself on camera for the first time-and the “no-retakes” nature of real-time video-and you can understand why some newbies are not exactly thrilled with the opportunity to use the nice new videoconferencing system.

It is hard for those of us who use videoconferencing frequently to remember the trepidation we felt when we first experienced two-way video. When you realized that the person on the screen could see and hear you, did you immediately check your hair? Did you worry if your fly was open? Did you speak louder since the person on the screen was physically so very far away? Were you reluctant to speak? Regardless of how you reacted, it was a new experience…