Proximity Online - The Importance Of Being Self Aware

proximity

[ prok-sim-i-tee ]

noun

nearness in place, time, order, occurrence, or relationship

navigating the new restrictions faced during lockdown

'One of the main barriers faced was how to enable communication with each other without feelings of being impersonal, disjointed and separated.'

faced with finding better ways to connect and interact.

Whilst studying for my MA in Inclusive Arts Practice, I experienced first hand the difficulties that came with the new restrictions of Covid19.

The course, highly based around face to face workshops, interactive seminars and collaborations with marginalised groups, was forced to run online.

This put both students and tutors in the unique position of taking up the challenge of navigating this new territory and finding ways to connect and interact.

Im not going to lie, it was hard! but it was also an incredible journey in which we were all able to share in problem solving together, which in turn resulted in forming close bonds and new methodologies that would not have otherwise been explored.

One of the main barriers faced was how to enable communication with each other without feelings of being impersonal, disjointed and separated. (After all how could we collaborate artistically together in a meaningful way when we couldn't even be in the same room as each other?) This also included working on ways of being inclusive when collaborating online with those who may have extra communication needs within the marginalised groups we would be working with.

A sense of a more Inclusive and relaxed atmosphere online...How Did We Get There?

collaborating artistically online & proximity: where do i position myself?

'Creating an inclusive and comfortable environment focused on everyone feeling involved and relaxed were key elements to insure the best working atmosphere for everyone'

As the collaborations had to be remote, meeting and working together using visual online platforms became the new collaborative space.

Creating an inclusive and comfortable environment focused on everyone feeling involved and relaxed were key elements to insure the best working atmosphere for everyone both when designing workshops and during debriefs and group discussions. This got me thinking about how I might consider my positioning and manor online.

Through research and observation I found that key factors ( isted below), were found to help to insure a comfortable atmosphere for participants taking part in the online artistic collaborations:

• Not being too close to the screen

• Having a Plain background - (less going on in the background visually could help set a more relaxing atmosphere

• Being in a quiet place (no noise going on in the background) with Just me in the room, no one else

• Having good quality sound to enable clear communication

A couple of the students where already having to work remotely, due to cercumstances other than the restrictions of Lockdown, and stated that they felt there were also benefits to working online, such as the fact that you already have personal space

and that everyone is the same size on the screen and equally visible. These are two very good points that became apparent as time went on, showing that working online together can have its benefits.

Self Awareness online and The Importance of Communication

Working with participants with learning disabilities highlighted the importance of breaking communication barriers by observing and acknowledging.

some keys elements were:

Observing the use of Sign language as a tool to help in communication

Using written word (writing notes and holding them up to be seen in the camera)

Sharing /getting to know each other as artists.

talking and listening as a whole group

Sharing as a whole group

communicating visually and verbally as a whole group

LOOKING AT THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING SELF AWARE ONLINE: Reflecting On Sessions together

key considerations found to

Help when collaborating online (colour coded within text)

Listening and being listened to

Acknowledging - nodding

responding - asking questions

Being quiet when others are talking

Allowing for pauses

Tone of voice and language used

Calm and steady tone

Relaxed We and Us Terms not I and them?

For example

“Do you think…”

Not “I think we should..”

Body language and facial expressions

Sitting directly in front of the camera and facing forward

Looking at the screen when people are talking and sharing things

Smiling

background/ visual and sound -

Reasonably plain background

Quiet room

After we discussed this (background) during our first online student session, I had previously considered that too much in the background could make some people feel uncomfortable, and can also be a distraction. I had also thought about how being in a quiet room could bring an element of deeper connection with each other, as you are limiting outside distractions (which allows more focus on being part of the online group).

We Started the session by saying hello. I introduced myself first and then participants introduced themselves, we continued this flow of conversation by asking how everyone was, choosing to do this purposely to bring us into the room together a bit, before starting to consider answering the question we were going to think about and discuss.

During our session together, as well as making sure I was fully visible and faced the screen I made sure I had a reasonably plain background and was in a quiet room. I tried to make sure I spoke with a calm and steady tone and made room for silences and responses, Listening to participants when we shared our thoughts on the task at hand as well as having a relaxed conversation about ourselves as artists, asking and responding to questions together.

Our session concluded with us deciding together that we would each hold up our collaborative answers in a way we felt comfortable: myself writing the ideas down so that they were clearly visible and another participant drawing the ideas we came up with together, and holding them up so as to clearly present our thoughts to others.

When A Decision Aimed At Easing Tension Creates Tension Instead:

One mistake I learnt from during our online sessions was when

I instigated a quick introduction followed directly by a pre planned idea.

This did not work well, and concequently was speedily rectified by discarding the idea as quickly as it was started. This decission was due to almost instantly observing negative body language shown, such as moving out of camera shot and not entering into the shared dialogue by a participant.

I instead moved things into a general conversation and

asked about anything anyone would like to share (art work wise)

Several images were shared with the group, this in turn led into a relaxed and open whole group discussion.

Once this happened we were able to flow naturally into creating together much more comfortably.

Thriving In A New Reality Of Video Meetings And Online Interactions

When researching the importance of proximity online the main four things that repeatedly came up were:

• checking the light to ensure a comfortable amount for others to view you in

• adjusting the camera angle so that people feel they are speaking to you face to face

• reviewing your space and managing background noise to limit distractions

• Looking directly into the camera lens to establish eye contact

A Difference In Opinion Due To Personal Experience:

'I feel through my experience working collaboratively online, that looking straight at the screen as well as observing others doing the same, established more of a sense of acknowledgement of each other and better communication.'

The importance stressed of looking into the camera when speaking in order to establish eye contact I find myself disagreeing with, as I feel through my time working collaboratively online, that looking straight at the screen as well as observing others doing the same established more of a sense of acknowledgement of each other and better communication. I beleive this is because although we were not looking directly into our cameras we were looking at each other, which would have been taken away if we were all constantly looking at the tiny camera lense and not at the screen. To put it in perspective it would have had the same effect for me as looking over someone's shoulder when talking to them, and I believe that many important visual communications would have been missed because of this throughout our sessions together.

'Even though the pandemic is looking like it is coming to an end, video meetings are likely to be a major part of our business and personal communication for the foreseeable future.I believe that its important that we start developing a heightened sense of Virtual Self-Awareness, to enable us to bring a sense of being both professional and relatable, ensuring that people look forward to being on the next video call with us.'

being Mindful, Respectful And Flexible

clear and structured sessions online with room for flexibility

I found that having clear and structured sessions when collaborating online using visual platforms, paeticularly when working with vulnrable adults was a solid base to begin with when pre planning sessions, however an ability to also make room for changes/being willing to be flexible also helped to insure a comfortable atmosphere for all:

Bringing everyone into the room: ie introduction of each other/ sharing thoughts and artwork / Slides

Adapting - making room for adjustments/change

Listening/ mirroring/ acknowledging/asking questions

Letting silences happen and allowing time for responses

Observing & picking up on when others engage and when they don’t

Sharing: Focusing on us as artists not our abilities or disabilities

Creating A Relaxed Atmosphere To Work Together Collaboratively With Vulnerable People Online

Through My Experience and Reflections On Our Working Together Sessions I have found that...

Being Self Aware online, which is to say considering my full presence on camera:

• background (both visual and sound wise)

• body language and facial expressions

• Listening as well as being observant

• tone of voice and the language that I use...

...is very important, as together they are all great contributing factors to creating a Relaxed and Inclusive Atmosphere which I believe leads to Collaborative Ideas and Creativity Flourishing whilst working together online with groups and individuals.