Lessons Learnt During Covid by Antoinette

Hi I am Antoinette Lewis and you are listening to a Podcast on the Impact of the COVID- 19 pandemic on our lives. I am a member of the Podcast Pioneers. The Podcast Pioneers is a toastmasters’ club dedicated to sharing stories and inspirational messages with the public. There are so many lessons, I have learnt during Covid but the most important is, how we adopted and survived. Most of us survived thru the use of this tool called ZOOM and learnt some important lessons that we will never forget. I remembered the first time I zoomed I was literally ducking for cover, why? I logged on and there I was on camera, I was automatically logged in and saw myself on camera and folks were looking at me and I looking back at them. I logged on 30 mins early to set up and check zoom before the meeting started, I had no intention of being on camera, but a couple of folks had signed on early and saw me dressed “to the nine”. It was a day I would not forget, as I was dressed in my night clothes and sleeping cap. First lesson learnt, update your Zoom setting by unchecking “Start with Video” to not have your camera turned on automatically or select ALT +V to toggle the video on and off. Another lesson, I learnt is to check your mike to ensure your mike is unmuted, if you want to speak, multiple times I have begun speaking and wondered why is everyone staring at me in amazement or waving their hands frantically and then I hear them mouthing our favorite 4 Zoom word , YOU ARE ON MUTE, laughing and apologizing I unmute. And if you do not want anyone to hear what you are saying or doing, remember to mute your mike. Many times, I have forgotten to unmute during COVID and I am in my refrigerator searching for something to eat or drink or I am washing up my dishes while in the meeting. I called it multi-tasking as I am still in the meeting and getting the work done.  I was surprised when I returned, I hear someone say I know what you where doing, in amazement I look on my mike and it is on. Oh boy again I apologize because I am fully engaged and listening. It took me some times to get the hang of it but even as a host you can mute and unmute others in a meeting. How many times are you in a meeting and someone begins speaking to another person or their family members. I have had many a laugh at people’s expense including my own. Don’t mention being the host there are so many feature and function that you control and should remember. I have learnt the hard way as I have closed out many meeting in the earlier days, by leaving the meeting or pressing the wrong button, when I wanted to step away for a brief moment but keep the meeting running. Lessons learnt as the host you can give someone a co host or host privilege before the leaving the meeting or assign someone as a cohost at the beginning of the meeting for the same reason. If you don’t when you leave the meeting it will end. This was early in the pandemic when we all had to come up to speed quickly on the features and function of Zoom Now look at us now, expert in holding meetings over Zoom, teaching and showing others how to Zoom. It has been a lot of learning and takeaways but I would like to thank the Inventor of Zoom, as they have received the award for keeping us all of sane and connected. We have Birthday parties on Zoom, Weddings on Zoom, Funerals on Zoom, Graduation on Zoom and connected with each other locally and internationally on Zoom. Zoom has truly changed or lives and the way we communicate today. Is there anything we can’t do on Zoom These are all the lessons, I have learnt during COVID -19, pause. Have you learnt anything? I would like to give a few folk some credits, thanks to Bipin Chandriani, project manager, Su Brooks, graphic designer and the Neerja Purang, Integration Manger for helping me to put this podcast together , my first and I hope you enjoyed it.