Dear Lost in Space,
he role of the meeting leader or presenter takes on greater weight in a virtual environment. Virtual spaces don’t come with the rules and norms that accompany all the other spaces we’re used to meeting in. Given that, we have to create norms and purposes for virtual meetings. We’ll give you a few concrete examples for improving your virtual gatherings—be they a staff meeting or an interview—but first it may be worth exploring the nature of virtual spaces and how they compare to the physical spaces we are more used to.
Different kinds of spaces
We gather in many different spaces throughout our day. The historian and philosopher
Mircea Eliade categorized these spaces into two kinds: the sacred and the profane. You might also think of them as intentional spaces and ordinary spaces.
Intentional spaces have a clear orientation and direction. When you walk into a grand cathedral you know exactly where to look, even if you’re just a tourist, and you understand explicitly how to act. In education, the closest we get to this intentional space may be the lecture hall. In medicine, it is the examination room. But these spaces are often exceptions. Most of our spaces are quite ordinary.
The focus of a lecture hall is clear, but the focus of a Zoom room? Where is one to look? How is one to act? The role of the presenter or meeting leader in this space is to answer those questions, to define them for your audience, and, in doing so, turn the space that is Zoom into what geographers call place.
The focus of a lecture hall is clear, but the focus of a Zoom room? Where is one to look? How is one to act?
Places have depth and meaning, they recall past experiences and suggest future opportunities. They bind us together in ways that a space—anonymous, void, undefined—cannot. Virtual spaces are a third kind of space. And they are truly space. A void of ones and zeroes zooming past our eyes at dizzying speeds, but with no overarching purpose or meaning without our input. The Zoom space is different from physical places not just in substance, but also in style. Participants are more distant and there are fewer physical cues.
The role of the person leading a virtual space is to transform it into a place. Taking deliberate steps can help you turn Zoom into a place of decision-making, or meaning-making, or brainstorming, or learning.
How to turn space into a place
It may be helpful to think about the purpose of your presentation and the nature of your meeting as you work to create a shared place. The four prototypical Zoom spaces are interviews, formal presentations (like conference presentations), small groups (like team meetings), and large groups (like department, faculty, or committee meetings). The table below offers ways to lead and shape these spaces into productive and energizing places.
