Analysis of Communication in Virtual Meetings

Virtual communication is more widespread than ever. Virtual meetings are social situations that have influence on participants. The chapter explains and provides models for some of the differences between virtual and face-to-face communication while considering an extension of human perceptual fields involving the (incomplete) partner’s room mediated by the virtual channel. This communication situation between two or more interlocutors is analysed based on T. A. Sebeok’s communication model. The chapter outlines the following: (1) Physical rooms of all participants belong to the common virtual space, and thus the participant receives more cues than they would receive in a common physical room. (2) The participant must cope with a “double existence” of being present in multiple environments at the same time, while conversing with a partner in the virtual room, and possibly with someone in their physical room. It is not only about continuing separate dialogues in different contexts at the same time, but also coping with the noise of (at least) two different physical environments. The participant must control whether they interact with the virtual environment (by switching the camera and microphone) and be aware of which environment they interact with. (3) Virtual channel enables transferring only visual and auditive cues in a limited camera frame and microphone reach. Internet connection may be interrupted and lead to lack of information – the participant must fill in the gaps that occurred in the information exchange. (4) Participants might highlight different cues while both sending or receiving messages, or interpret the same cues from physical and virtual meetings differently. This results in an overload of information. The attention of the participants is divided. Such information overload is suggested to be one of the reasons for “Zoom fatigue” – more tiredness experienced during virtual meetings.