The Zoom virtual meetings software has controls for turning audio and video on or off, and a chat feature. All of these can be misused, as is discussed by Janani Sekar in an article at Harvard Crimson on September 24, 2020 titled How to: Deal with Zoom disasters.
Speaking while you’re muted (but didn’t mean to be)
This is minor. You just unmute, say oops, and then say what you wanted to convey. “You’re still on mute” is a common cry at the online Toastmasters club meetings I attend.
Speaking while you’re not muted (but meant to be)
This can be a major ‘hot mic’ downfall moment. There is an article at Snopes titled Did Uncle Don call kids ‘little b#st#rds’ on the air? describing a debunked urban legend about a radio host. Later something similar showed up in the 1957 movie A Face in the Crowd.
Video off when it should have been on
This is minor, and easily fixed.
Video on when it should have been off
This either could be minor or major. You can gross people out by picking your nose, using your camera as a makeup mirror, or full frontal nudity.
Video filter cat-astrophes (Updated February 9)
An article by Aaron Feis in the New York Post on February 9, 2021describes how a Zoom filter transforms lawyer into cat during court hearing.
Zoom chat
An article by Sarah Gershman at the Harvard Business Review on November 4, 2020 titled Yes, virtual presenting is weird explains how:
“The chat function is a great way to get immediate audience response. You could begin with a relevant question and ask people to type the answer in the chat. For example, you might ask everyone to write one thing they hope to learn from the presentation. The chat is especially helpful to introverts who may not want to speak up. Make sure to read aloud at least some of the answers (and use first names if you can). When you engage the audience immediately, you feel as though people are listening, which raises your confidence for the rest of the presentation.”
Zoom chat (with the wrong private person)
This might be minor. Just one person thinks you are creepy. But that person might also be creepy as in this 20-second video clip from Taxi Driver (with very bad language).
Zoom chat (with everyone instead of a private person)
This can be major, depending on what you inadvertently said.
Images of a cartoon monkey, microphone and webcam came from Wikimedia Commons. Cartoons of men with upset and horrified faces both came from the 1912 book The Cartoonist’s Art by J. Campbell Cory at the Internet Archive.
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