In the world of social distancing and work from home, most of our interactions are now taking place via video conferencing. #GroomingforZooming must have been the trendiest hashtag during lockdown and beyond. We all made the initial gaffes of having various family members wander in the background and were caught on camera making angry dumb-charade like gestures, shooing them away. Some were even caught with their pants down, wearing a shirt and tie over their boxers, leading to one TV anchor even asking his guests (while on air) — I hope you I haven’t caught you with your pants down.
And slowly we learnt the etiquette, down to keeping a glass of water camouflaged in a coffee mug next to us, so when asked an uncomfortable question we won’t be seen nervously gulping water but casually reaching out for a sip of coffee as we pondered over the answer. Little tricks but in the world of mirrors and cameras, it’s the little tricks that work. Such as always keep the camera — in most cases this would be the top-end of the laptop screen slightly higher than your eye level, so the camera looks down on you and not straight at all your double chins.
Then of course is the question of the background – most opted for the bookshelves, or the most gaily coloured wall in the house. But then something interesting happened. Ironically while we were keeping the social distance, we were also breaching other frontiers. Suddenly, we were allowing colleagues and business interactions to enter our private spaces — be it our study or living room these interactions are taking place not in some impersonal coffee shops, conference rooms or TV studios but in our own houses. And so, if it’s not a book behind you, it’s a painting on your wall, a certificate on your desk, or a memento in your frame and the small talk suddenly becomes more than just empty chit chat. Despite the digital distancing, there is also an intimate edge to the interaction. And in most cases, intimate in a good way because trust me, everyone is putting their best frame forward.
Apart from business meetings, video conferencing has also brought families closer, especially on birthdays and special occasions such as graduation ceremonies. It was clearly a bring-your-own-booze party as everyone clinked glasses online. And if the conversation flagged then the more enterprising ones introduced party games such as the old favourite Truth and Dare (yes, the game gets even better post college when there are so many more secrets to hide).
Instagram videos, webchats and zoom calls have become the new coffee shops and conference rooms in town. And with the virus taking its own sweet time to exit, this is definitely the new normal — be it Zoom or the Indian version thereof, make sure you have the right frame. And the rest will follow.