Will you be in a Zoom meeting this week? Don’t forget there’s a human on the other side of the camera.

When I trained circus full-time in my thirties, I enjoyed having other performers in the audience because they knew how to be a good audience. They were encouraging and supportive. I could feel that they wanted me to do well, and their energy helped me to give more.

This was in complete contrast to an experience ten years prior. It was pensioners night in a Perth theatre production and, as I walked on stage, I was momentarily flattered when I heard, “Oh, I thought it was Julia Roberts”. However, as the show continued and the entire audience continued to discuss the piece aloud it became increasingly challenging!

You don’t have to be a performer in a new wave theatre piece to experience a distracting or distracted audience. You could be facilitating an online safety induction and participants are checking emails or feeding the dog, thinking you can’t see them.

Even when cameras are off or listeners are small heads on your screen, I think you can feel when people are distracted. Sometimes that is because we aren’t delivering and need to step up. (Topic for another post.) Increasingly, though, a distracted online audience is the result of a habit most of us have gotten into (myself included) of multi-tasking.

What it looks like to be attentive will be different for each person. Screens can make it difficult to get comfortable and each of us will find different ways of being present. Your head might nod and make expressions as you hear people speak. Sometimes you look away from the screen, to digest information. Some people doodle to feel more focused. People who are neurodivergent may have less familiar facial expressions and ways of being present. Folks with chronic pain may need to lie down or stretch.

The most important thing is not to pretend. We know when someone is faking enthusiastic listening.

In the era of remote working, it’s important we learn, and practice, the etiquette of being an online audience. The way you show up can make a huge difference for the person speaking. This in turn affects the quality of your experience, and everyone else in the room.

Be a good audience – and make it easier for the speaker to run a great session for you :)

Rachael West is a coach, movement educator and strategic speaker coach. She has been supporting clients to communicate complex topics in a way that helps ideas ripple for nearly 20 years. Get in touch to find out about individual coaching and in-house workshops on meeting etiquette.