One of the more interesting gripes about the virtual nature of work during Covid was that executives had no way of visualizing their status in Zoom meetings where everyone’s box was the same size. Research from Lund University explores how power and status could be displayed within the seemingly equalizing environment of a Zoom call.
The researchers used the high-stakes world of politics to explore matters, with the focus being on the G20 meeting in 2020, which went virtual for the first time ever. The researchers assessed over 50 photos from the event to understand how leaders responded to the new environment and how they adapted their settings to try and display status.
“Usually when diplomats meet at summits, props are avoided. Neutral locations are preferred, and when official photos are taken, their aim is to project that a meeting of equals has taken place,” the researchers explain.
Displays of power
The researchers cite historical examples of crucial visual protocols, such as at the Potsdam Conference in 1945, where extra doors were installed so that Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin could all enter the room at the same time.
There were similar machinations at a recent meeting between the European Union and Turkish President Recep Erdogan, before which the European Council’s Charles Michel sat in a chair that was meant to host the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.
With the move to virtual meetings during the pandemic, one might hope that such political niceties might be avoided in what appears to be a much more egalitarian environment. There were certainly no protocols to adhere to as to how status should be displayed online.
“It was interesting to see how different states signaled status through how virtual meetings were set up. It reinforced how important visual diplomacy is; the need to visually highlight one’s own nation emerged immediately,” the researchers say.
Showing status
The researchers collected images provided by the countries represented at the virtual G20 summit in March 2020. They examined the images for signs that they regarded as crucial to successful international politics, such as trustworthiness, reliability, and continuity.
These factors could be displayed in a variety of ways in the theatrical staging used for the calls, such as the venue, the backdrop, the actors visible in the calls, and any props on display.
For instance, the backgrounds used by delegates were very different. Whereas all displayed at least one flag, low GDP countries tended to display more flags than high GDP countries, with India having ten flags in the background of their delegates. This differs from traditional diplomatic summits, at which just a single flag per country is allowed.
The delegations seen in the shots also varied considerably, as whereas some countries showed just their leaders on their own, others had a panoply of advisors around their leader. In some instances, who was attending was clearly designed to show the axes of power in that country, such as when President Trump was flanked by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Secretary of the Treasury.
The right backdrop
The backdrop we display on our Zoom calls has become something of a figure of fun lately, as service providers have cropped up to produce backdrops to portray the right kind of image. While the G20 summit occurred in the early months of the pandemic and so before such services had emerged, the delegates were no less considerate about the backgrounds they used.
While some leaders positioned themselves in relatively mundane conference rooms, others chose locations with symbolic value, such as Xi Jinping, who sat in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Similarly, Emmanuel Macron joined the meeting from an ornate hall at the Elysee Palace. Both choices are clearly designed to symbolize the wealth and prestige of their respective countries. Similarly, President Trump joined from the “Situation Room” in the White House, which symbolizes the military might of the United States.
The researchers also highlight the various props that were visible in shot during the call, with President Macron having a bottle of hand sanitizer in front of him to showcase their war on the virus. The choice of colors was also important, with blue identified as a signal for credibility and red aggressiveness. Nearly all participants chose one of these two colors.
While the study mainly focused on this original meeting, the researchers have continued to track the use of video conferencing throughout the pandemic and argue that most countries have begun to converge on a standard norm as the pandemic has progressed.
“To some extent, you learn from one another, and gradually there has been a streamlining. In some cases there are also stricter instructions from organizers,” the researchers conclude. “Initially, however, the lack of a visual protocol led to new opportunities for states to signal status. It may be taking place in a digital landscape now, but diplomacy still rests on the same cultural and symbolic practices.”
