An easy-to-use set of physical gestures that attendees in online group video meetings can utilize to enhance their meeting experience has been designed and tested by researchers.
Paul D. Hills of University College London, U.K., and colleagues from University College London and the University of Exeter, U.K., present the technique, which they call Video Meeting Signals (VMS™), in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on August 3, 2022.
Online video conferencing has been a helpful resource for business, education, and social contacts throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. It has also been linked to weariness, poor communication, and poor mental health.
Hills created VMS, a collection of basic physical gestures that may be utilized in conjunction with verbal communication during a video meeting, to help overcome the difficulties associated with online video meetings.
The use of gestures like two thumbs up to indicate agreement or a hand over the heart to express sympathy is intended to improve interactions by performing the same function as subtle face-to-face cues like raised eyebrows but being more obvious in a cramped video environment.
Our research indicates that there’s something about the use of gestures specifically which appears to help online interactions and help people connect and engage with each other. This can improve team performance, make meetings more inclusive and help with psychological wellbeing.
Paul D. Hills
Hills and colleagues first put VMS to the test with more than 100 undergraduate students in order to look into its potential. After receiving training in the technique, half of the students took part in two video-based lectures with groups of roughly 10 students each before providing feedback in a survey.
According to an analysis of the survey data, students who had had VMS training expressed better personal experiences, better attitudes about their seminar group, and better learning outcomes than those who had not. The analysis of seminar transcripts revealed that participants who had received VMS training were more likely to express themselves positively.
In a related experiment, participants who were not students produced similar outcomes. This study also indicated that participants who were educated to use emoticons rather than VMS gestures did not have as positive of an experience.
These results imply that VMS might be a useful strategy for overcoming the difficulties of video conferencing. The researchers intend to keep studying VMS in the future, for example by looking at the potential mechanisms underlying its effects and the best ways to use it.
Paul D. Hills adds: “Our research indicates that there’s something about the use of gestures specifically which appears to help online interactions and help people connect and engage with each other. This can improve team performance, make meetings more inclusive and help with psychological wellbeing.”
Daniel C. Richardson adds: “Because you can’t make eye contact or pick up on subtle nods, gestures, and murmurs of agreement or dissent in video conferences, it can be hard to know if people are engaged with what you’re saying. We found strong evidence that encouraging people to use more natural hand gestures had a much better effect on their experience.”
