When A Zoom Meeting Goes Wrong
OMG. My internet connection died in the middle of a webinar with a huge client! They had people joining from all over the world. I had a giant freak out on the inside as I tried to keep it together on the outside, lest somehow my webcam and audio still be functioning. #alwaystheoptimist
It's one thing when you're a Zoom participant and your tech doesn't cooperate, and another, when you're THE INSTRUCTOR and Spectrum, decides to have a neighborhood outage in the middle of the day.
I went through the 5 stages of grief in about 30 seconds:
Denial -- This can't be happening! Surely the screen just froze for a second and will come right back. Right?!?!
Anger -- ****ing Spectrum! How hard is it to make sure my internet works 24x7x365? You had one job!
Bargaining -- Please come back! Pretty please? If you come back now, I promise to take back what I just said. Sort of.
Depression -- OMG. The client is going to HATE me. They are never going to contract with me again. They will probably tell everyone how unprofessional I am. And, they will never learn the keys to effective delegation (the webinar topic of the day)!
Acceptance -- You know what? Tech happens. This is not the first time nor the last that the internet will have a blip.
So, what happened? Spectrum got it together and the internet was back up within 7 minutes. Not bad from their point of view. An eternity when you're in the middle of a one-hour webinar, but not fatal. And, all of the participants were still on the webinar waiting for me to return. They just laughed it off.
After being virtual for a year now, I've learned a few things that help me not completely lose it when these things happen:
Always have a technical producer, even for the smallest virtual event. Having a second person who also has a copy of the deck pulled up and ready to go is the #1 best thing to do for events. This person can also help monitor the chatbox and help anyone who needs assistance with "I can't find the unmute button."
Always have the mobile number of your technical producer so that you can text them if your internet goes down to let them know that it's showtime for them. This is what I did when Spectrum left me hanging. She was able to let the group know that something had happened and to sit tight. They actually used the time to talk through one of the concepts that we'd just been discussing.
Have Zoom or MS Teams or WebEx or whatever platform you are using also loaded as an app on your phone. If your internet goes down you can join from there. I've done this before and facilitated from my phone while my technical producer showed the slides from her screen.
Keep your sense of humor and compassion. These things happen. Roll with the punches and always have a plan B and C and D. If the slides don't work, then be prepared to talk through the content (which you should know anyway). If the video doesn't work, then just move on. If your microphone dies, have another one that you can swap out quickly.
Just remember -- your audience takes their cues from you. If you freak out and meltdown then that is a poor experience for everyone. If you handle things with grace then they will be left with a positive impression, even if the circumstances weren't ideal.
Has this ever happened to you? How did you handle it? Do you have any other tips for success?