One of the challenges I noticed during the height of Covid-19 is the level of fatigue so many experienced when it became a daily event to be on Zoom, Webex, Google Meets, Microsoft Teams, Skype, etc. for meetings. People who were not used to being on camera were suddenly Internet personalities. We either took the time to wear makeup and pay attention to our style of dress or we met without turning on the camera. In some cases, meeting off-camera creates a gap in which crucial communication information can be lost such as nonverbal cues and emotion.

There is an art to being an internet personality and most of us were not prepared to show up appropriately and powerfully. Now more than ever we have to be conscious of our personal brand and how others perceive us when we show up for a virtual meeting with poor lighting, a less than an ideal backdrop, clothing that appears as though we just rolled out of bed in time for a meeting, which in some cases was happening regularly. A cottage industry has sprung up to help us deal effectively in the virtual world. We still have much to learn.