Case 11-2 Nonverbal Cues and Videoconferencing Faridah Khan was exhausted. As marketing man- ager for Green Dreams Landscaping, a lawn and garden center headquartered in Pittsburgh. Pennsylvania, her responsibilities as leader of a project team were taking up more time and energy than she had expected. The goal of the project was to determine ways to expand the business into new territories. The project had launched 4 months ago. Faridah, a veteran project leader, had quickly established specific goals, selected team members and clarified their roles, and cre- ated a reasonable timeline for delivering their recommendations to the board. The project was moving forward on schedule. The members of her team worked at six loca- tions across the state, making face-to-face meet- ings impractical, so the team relied on technology for communication. They used e-mail, text, group chat, and phone calls, but they chiefly relied on Zoom videoconferencing because it substitutes so well for human contact. "Why do I feel anxious and drained after each video chat?" Faridah asked herself. Interact- ing with a grid of faces at close range, include ing her own, for extended periods should have been a benefit, she thought, because it allowed her to see and hear everyone's nonverbal behav- iors. Yet she'd experienced some disadvantages to video chat, due to a lack of social conventions. For instance, there were awkward pauses when team members were unsure whose turn to talk it was. And sometimes she was distracted by people, noise, and objects in the team members environments. Facial expressions seemed exag- gerated; hand gestures were too large and close to the webcam; eye contact turned into stares;variations in voice pitch and tone couldn't be ignored. Sometimes she wished she could just step back or walk around a bit during Zoom meetings. Questions 1. Review the key points in this chapter and list some steps that Faridah should take to create a more normal, relaxed atmosphere during Zoom meetings with her project team. 2. Few of us can resist watching ourselves onscreen when videoconferencing. What are some ways to relieve overemphasis on nonverbal cues and reduce the feeling of being onstage? 3. When should managers use a communication technology that includes nonverbal cues, such as Zoom, over one that de-emphasizes nonverbals, such as e-mail? For instance, which is best when sharing information? When making decisions