Patrick Mosher argues Zoom fatigue stems from perceived cost outweighing benefit. A well-designed icebreaker at the start of meetings can restore engagement by fostering authenticity and humor. He shares how a gratitude-based icebreaker led a consulting client to emotional openness and creative problem-solving.
Chapters
New terms are popping up in our language: pandemic fatigue, COVID fatigue, Zoom fatigue. Fatigue is defined as a temporary loss of power induced by continued stimulation. In my young career, at a staff meeting, a manager reported the loss of a contract due to the client's fee fatigue. The client simply got tired of paying. The partner in the room got red-faced and mad and burst out saying, there's no such thing as fee fatigue. It means that the perceived value dipped below the fees paid. I always worked hard in my career to avoid fee fatigue by continually driving value, combat fatigue by lifting value. So let's use that same strategy to fight Zoom fatigue. Video conference calls such as Zoom, Teams, Skype, Google Hangouts, Cisco Webex, GoToMeeting are the new normal. So let's just lift the perceived value over the cost by introducing just a little fun. Here's my challenge for you. Start your next meeting with a cool icebreaker. People use two truths and a lie as an icebreaker. And here's how that goes. Each person tells the group 3 statements about themselves, and it's up to the group to decide which 2 of the statements are true and which one is false. So for example, my favorite 2 truths and a lie are these 3: danced professionally in a modern dance company, worked for George Lucas's Industrial Light and Magic Company, jumped out of a perfectly good airplane in Wisconsin. You have to decide which one's the lie and which two are the truths. So Two Truths and a Lie is an amusing icebreaker and works well in most situations. An effective icebreaker works because it gets people vulnerable, they share an authentic fact, and there's a safe environment where they actually get to lie about themselves a little bit. And best of all, they're comfortable doing it. So the key components of an icebreaker are that it's authentic, vulnerable, and they're comfortable. And then there's a bonus component too, because usually there's a bit of humor and a little bit of laughter too. So, as a designer of a, and a moderator of an icebreaker, it's critical to create an environment where people feel safe and the right level of discomfort where ice can actually break. I've seen too many failed attempts at icebreakers going way too superficial, like skimming stone on a frozen lake, shallow and a waste of time. You have to break the ice to get to that vulnerable place, get people to tell an interesting story. An effective icebreaker, moderated expertly, gets people leaning in and wanting to learn more about each person, and that's the beauty. On one of my consulting engagements, my client counterpart surprised me with an amazing icebreaker. So we gathered the team to address some tough problems which had serious people and financial implications for people across the company. Thousands of lives were going to be changed because of what we were going to decide in that 60-minute meeting. As people came into the room, very few made eye contact with us. They knew this was going to be tough. You could feel them bracing for impact. The weight of the coming decisions weighed heavily. My counterpart closed the door and started the meeting. We're gonna go around the room, and I'd like each person to take 1 minute to share something they're personally grateful for and something they're professionally grateful for. As each person responded, eventually there were tears. People talked about their children, the abundance they feel, and respect for this team that we had gathered. He ended the icebreaker by sharing research showing that gratitude electrifies the brain in a different way than problem-solving, and preceding a problem-solving session with gratitude opens us up to creative solutions not necessarily available in pure problem-solving mode. I love neuroscience. So it was time to get down to business with smiles on our faces and with gratitude in our hearts. So I'm gonna dive under the ice a little bit here with myself. I'd like to share some vulnerability with you within comfortable limits. So here's a variation to the True Truths and a Lie icebreaker, and I call it Count the Truths. I designed this just for you. Here goes. How many truths about me are on this list? So you have to count 'em. So there's 7 of them here. So first one, performed magic shows at my local senior center when I was 11. Truth or lie? Met my wife on a blind date. Truth or lie? Worked in a plant that made light bulbs. Truth or lie? Got hopelessly lost on a 3-day hiking expedition in Kentucky. Truth or lie? Watched a tornado touchdown from a lawn chair. While camping. Truth or lie? Stopped to help a stalled motorist who turned out to be someone famous. Truth or lie? And finally, sat next to Prince while watching a band at a bar. Truth or lie? Put your answer in the comments section. I'd love to hear. Even better, what would your list of 10 truth or lie statements look like? I'd love to get to know you better because everyone has an interesting story. Be bold, share, and lie about your life a little bit. Let's eradicate Zoom fatigue and use a cool icebreaker to create authentic interactions and deepen our relationships and have a little fun along the way. Shine boldly.
