![\"Do](\"https:\/\/images.ctfassets.net\/lzny33ho1g45\/6tuuxGVoqAHheffrxrZcN4\/c22f78b2c3d120dc3f8215edfff7a89b\/145b1c5c2c01626801e3df3833a8fb42.png?w=700\" "\\"waving-on-video-calls-01-poll\\"")
Here\u2019s the definitive ruling for the entire internet, from now until the end of time: waving at the end of video calls is good, and no one should feel bad for doing it. Ever.<\/p>\n
You might be wondering: Justin, who put you in charge of Zoom etiquette? My answer: Google. Google put me in charge of <\/span>Zoom etiquette<\/a>.<\/p>\n So if you disagree, you are wrong. But let\u2019s dig into <\/span>why<\/i> <\/span>I\u2019m so right.<\/p>\n Waving at the end of a video meeting might <\/span>feel<\/i> <\/span>odd because no one waves at the end of in-person meetings. And sure: it would be weird to wave at a bunch of people you\u2019re sharing a conference room table with.<\/p>\n But video calls aren\u2019t like real-life meetings \u2014 at all. At the end of in-person meetings, you get to stand up at the same time as everyone else. You maybe walk away or stay for a bit and chat. What you don\u2019t do is click a red button and suddenly disappear.<\/p>\n Video calls end suddenly. There\u2019s nothing organic about it. Spending a few seconds waving and saying goodbye provides a sort-of-organic end and makes the whole thing feel more human. Internet linguist Gretchen McCulloch <\/span>put it well<\/a>:<\/p>\n One of the big differences with walking out of a meeting room vs a videocall is that you can still expect to see someone in the hallway after a physical meeting, which is not the case at all in videochat!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n So we do need a fuller farewell, which a wave can accomplish!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n I couldn\u2019t agree with this more. Humans aren\u2019t machines \u2014 we\u2019re social animals. We want to feel connected to each other, even in a work context. Suddenly hanging up feels inhuman (because it is). Waving and saying goodbye solves this problem.<\/p>\n The other day, I stumbled upon <\/span>this charming op-ed<\/a>, wherein author Alexander McCall Smith recalls being told by a well-meaning coworker that you\u2019re not \u201csupposed\u201d to wave at the end of Zoom calls:<\/p>\n Apparently, you just don\u2019t do that, and the same goes for the moment when you first see the other participants on a call. I have been waving to them with unconcealed delight at the sheer miracle of the technology. That, apparently, is not only a very uncool thing to do, it is just plain bad Zoom manners.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n This made me sad. Here\u2019s a person who\u2019s happy to see other people during a very difficult year, and that happiness takes the form of a wave. And he\u2019s told not to do this because it\u2019s not cool \u2014 rude, even.<\/p>\n I mean, it\u2019s true: waving at the end of a meeting isn\u2019t cool. The cool thing to do is to just, like, mysteriously disappear, into the night, without ever acknowledging that you appreciate another human person.<\/p>\n Work is better if we all feel safe expressing appreciation for each other, and waving at the end of meetings is one small way to do that. It\u2019s a little embarrassing, <\/span>aggressively corny<\/a>, and serves no purpose other than sincerely acknowledging the other people in the call. But that\u2019s why it\u2019s great.<\/p>\n I think our workplace is better because everyone waves. Yours would be too.<\/p>\n Published February 26, 2021 \u2014 08:28 UTC <\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/images.ctfassets.net\/lzny33ho1g45\/7pD2FXsIVk86bB6u5KrSv1\/2cdf56d085f58574f0c038fafac532b5\/image2.png?w=700\" "\\"waving-on-video-calls-02-snippet\\"")
Video calls are different from in-person meetings<\/h2>\n
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Waving is corny, and corny is good<\/h2>\n
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