One-on-One in Party Conversation Ability in Zoom / Teams

Zoom calls, Teams calls, virtual happy hours are tremendously valuable these days. They help friends and work teams connect during shelter in place. In normal life, they even facilitate distributed team meetings. I love the fast transitions from home productivity (taking out the garbage, exercise, feeding kids) to seeing friends. However, there is one missing element from the meeting and even more so the ‘party’ equation — the ability to have ONE on ONE conversation while also hearing the chatter or somehow feeling the presence of others.

Zoom / House Party / Teams developers ! I want the ability to look at a screen of 10 friends, pick out one and put the rest of the meeting on quiet mode and ask them about their week. Basically, I want the equivalent of walking up to a friend or stranger at a party, striking up a convo not intended for the entire party. I’m fine with crowds, but I cringe at the idea of anyone dominating the conversation that much. One-on-One conversations in Party will allow for ‘relators’ / semi-introverted people to more deeply connect.

I have had this thought several times while on Zoom calls and Happy Hours, but this idea really popped into my mind while listening to Adam Grant’s great WorkLife podcast. He and his guest describe a “killer” connection activity where an entire work group splits into one-on-one conversations for one minute. The result is that teams develop much stronger personal ties.

I’m looking forward to those one-on-one convos while at a party.

PS. I know these aren’t necessarily super easy changes. Zoom, Teams, Hangouts, Duo, House Party developers, thanks for your efforts!!