“Can you hear me?” How to Improve a Scrum Team’s Listening skills on Zoom calls.

Conference calls. Cameras on. Sharing screens. Breakout rooms.

Distributed working in times of COVID has made these practices more ‘normal’ now than ever before.

Technology like Zoom keeps us going and keeps us connected. I am massively grateful for the ability to stay productive using these platforms.

We’re still allowed to think about how to make it better! Empiricism, or the ability to look closely at something and consider how to improve it, is a foundation of the ways of working of Scrum Teams.

I invite your Scrum Team to consider their listening skills on platforms like Zoom. (If you use other tools, the ideas here will still be relevant). I hope the practical advice shared here will help your Scrum Team listen to each other more intently, and that this will help you have more effective interactions.

Are you listening?

In 2020, the most mundane impediments to communication in teams can be summarised in 5 painful phrases:

1. “Can you hear me?”
2. “You’re on mute.”
3. “… I think you’re on double mute…”
4. “… I think you’re breaking up.”