Enter the House of Horrors!
"Worst. Meeting. Ever."
If you've ever said that, or even thought that, I want to hear the story. And, let's face it, you want to TELL the story. Because you just can't make this stuff up.
In cooperation with NOVA Scribes and Dancing With Markers, I’m hosting an Online Meeting House of Horrors. I want to hear your online meetings horror stories. Like...
...the presenter who didn't mute his headset during a bio break.
...the webmeeting app that couldn't mute participants, so whenever anyone put the call on hold, everyone else heard the helpful recorded message that September is Chicken Month.
...the OTHER webmeeting app where the "Push to Talk" button is right next to the "Push to End" button. As in, end the meeting for everyone.
...the participant who said, "I wasn't listening. Could you explain that again?" (There have been a few of those.)
...that one time someone created a giant sticky note on MURAL obscuring everything else and would NOT let go of it.
...that one part of the company DID recognize daylight savings time, while the other part of the company DID NOT.
These are all 100% true stories, by the way.
Enter the house of online meeting horrors!
Why are we doing this? Why would ANYBODY do this?!
First, there are some things you just have to laugh at. Second, knowing what can go wrong is a great way to prevent it from actually going wrong. Third, what better group to share your horror stories with than a group of sympathetic colleagues? Fourth, this will be a safe way for you to practice using MURAL and other collaborative apps.
Seriously. We're keeping this focused on the horror stories. Appreciative inquiry? Not doing it. Positive psychology? Forget about it. Look on the bright side? Get out. Glass half full? Nope.
Get ready to relive your nightmares.
Because misery loves company.
Give me the deets!
It’s Tuesday, April 20, 2021, from 3:30 PM to 5:00 PM EDT. And it’s completely free to attend, but we’re limiting the number of attendees (a haunted house is only so big.)
You can register on the NOVA Scribes website:
You have to be a NOVA Scribes member to register, but that’s free, too. NOVA Scribes is a free and open forum for visual and virtual facilitators to share their ideas. You can learn more about NOVA Scribes here: https://www.meetup.com/NOVA-Scribes
How do I prepare?
Jot down some of your most horrific online moments.
Prep your hardware. Test your internet speed by clicking here: http://www.fast.com You should have at least 10 Mbps, and ideally above 20 Mbps. Please participate using a laptop or desktop computer. Do not use an iPad or smartphone. For your browser, use Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Microsoft Edge. Do not use Internet Explorer, Safari, or Opera. If you have them, a good headset and an external mouse will enhance your experience but are not required.
Practice using MURAL, the online, collaborative sticky wall that we'll use to work visually.
• Start by downloading and reading this one-page, quick start guide: https://www.lizardbrain.com/s/MURAL_QuickGuide.pdf
• Watch this one-minute video on MURAL’s features: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPydNxrmmLI
• Then, follow this link to a MURAL you can experiment with. https://app.mural.co/t/lizardbrainsolutions/m/lizardbrainsolutions/1581557656156/d6b620d686b04da5a244e32820a2e70dc921a5d7
Finally, practice splitting your screen: having two apps open at the same time. You’ll need to have Zoom and MURAL open at the same time when we meet.
• For PCs: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4027324/windows-10-snap-your-windows
• For Macs: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204948
See you in the house of horrors!
Illustration by Mark Monlux