Coping with Online Conference Anxiety

Some Ramblings from a Raging Academic

Photo by Dylan Ferreira on Unsplash — Chatting is fun once you get used to it.

The way we communicate with others has significantly changed over the years. With the increased reliance on online conference calls, it’s easy to lose sight of regular human interaction.

While it’s easy to stay connected with others online, such as with friends, it sometimes feels like a very different story when you’re doing a conference call with strangers for the very first time.

For example, let’s say you’re starting a new job next year. Perhaps because of the circumstances in your area, an informal meeting is happening in the comfort of your own home.

However, it can feel pretty awkward and nerve-wracking when meeting other faces. Perhaps they have hundreds of accolades and honours. Perhaps they have patents and have produced infamous scholarly works that have been featured on the news.

Photo by Roman Kraft on Unsplash — Who would have thought?

Either way, it’s intimidating and your mind might wand wander into a series of thoughts, snowballing into:

• Will the wifi go down?
• Is the lighting on my face good enough?