Active listening

Active listening behaviours from listeners on a Zoom call is almost as important to having a good conversation on Zoom as is the person leading the conversation speaking clearly. There are few things more unsettling than a Zoom call with no active listening where the speaker is left wondering if anyone is actually on the call (has everyone run off to get a coffee?) or whether their microphone has stopped working. Below are tips for helpful active listening behaviours on Zoom calls. We split them up by whether you have both video and audio available to you, or just audio:

Video and audio

If you have access to both video and audio on Zoom (either by technical availability, or choosing to turn on your camera), below are ways you can perform active listening on Zoom to cue to someone you are speaking with that they can hear you.

1. In small to medium sized meetings, when no one is screen sharing, body language that is viewable via your camera is one way to signal to others that you are listening. This is similar to what you would do in a face-to-face conversation. Specifically behaviours such as looking at the camera and nodding along at places in the conversation where agreement with the speaker seems natural, or where the speaker pauses and asks if folks are following are examples.

2. In small to medium sized meetings, when no one is screen sharing, using the thumbs up 👍 or clapping 👏 reaction on Zoom is another way to signal that you are listening. You can use this in place of nodding if you prefer, or to provide emphasis on top of nodding.

3. In large meetings where the gallery view may take > 1 page on Zoom, or when the speaker is screen sharing, nodding of your head and the thumbs up 👍 and 👏 reactions on Zoom are likely to be missed by the speaker. In some cases, you could unmute yourself and add audio feedback as you would in an audio only setting (we'll discuss this in a moment), but this can become distracting from the speaker in a large meeting if too many people do this. In this setting, selecting the thumbs up 👍 or clapping 👏 icon from the participant panel is the preferred way of demonstrating that you are following along. Unlike the reaction versions of these emoji's these remain present until you (or the meeting host) clears them. So be sure to clear them when you are done expressing your active listening (i.e., just having a thumbs up 👍 on the participant panel the entire time is not an example of active listening).

Practice activity 1

Cameras on if you can. In this large meeting, I am going to tell a little story about why I started using computer programming to analyze data during my PhD. As I tell this story, practice using the participants panel thumbs up 👍 or clapping 👏 icons to listen actively. I will be paying attention to that panel.

Practice activity 2

Cameras on if you can. I am going to send you into smaller breakout rooms of ~ 3 people, when you enter the room, please go into gallery mode. I want each of you to take a turn leading, telling your story of how you came to register for DSCI 100 (~ 1-2 minutes each). The others in the room should practice active listening using either body language that is viewable in the camera, or the thumbs up 👍 and 👏 reactions on Zoom.

Audio only

If you only have access to both video and audio on Zoom (either by technical availability, or by choosing to not turn on your camera), below are ways you can perform active listening on Zoom to cue to someone you are speaking with that they can hear you.

1. In small meetings, you can unmute yourself and treat the call like a phone call, inserting verbal nods (e.g., “Uh-huh”, "I see", "Please go on") where appropriate.

2. In medium-sized meetings, where unmuting yourself migth be too distracting, using the thumbs up 👍 or clapping 👏 reaction on Zoom is one way to signal that you are listening. You can use this in place of nodding if you prefer, or to provide emphasis on top of nodding.

3. In large meetings where the gallery view may take > 1 page on Zoom, or when the speaker is screen sharing, the thumbs up 👍 and 👏 reactions on Zoom are likely to be missed by the speaker. In some cases, you could unmute yourself and add audio feedback as you would in an audio only setting (we'll discuss this in a moment), but this can become distracting from the speaker in a large meeting if too many people do this. In this setting, selecting the thumbs up 👍 or clapping 👏 icon from the participant panel is the preferred way of demonstrating that you are following along. Unlike the reaction versions of these emoji's these remain present until you (or the meeting host) clears them. So be sure to clear them when you are done expressing your active listening (i.e., just having a thumbs up 👍 on the participant panel the entire time is not an example of active listening).

Practice activity 1

Cameras off now! In this large meeting, I am going to tell a little story about why I use version control and ask you a few questions as I do so. As I tell this talk, practice using the participants panel thumbs up 👍 or clapping 👏 icons to listen actively and/or answer questions. I will be paying attention to that panel.

Practice activity 2

Cameras off now! I am going to send you into smaller breakout rooms of ~ 3 people, when you enter the room, please go into gallery mode. I want each of you to take a turn leading, telling your story of what you are most excited to learn in DSCI 100 (~ 1-2 minutes each). The others in the room should practice active listening using either by unmuting and providing verbal nods, or the thumbs up 👍 and 👏 reactions on Zoom. We encourage you to try both in this activity!