By Adam Sibalek, B.E.T.D., BAI Reg
Are you a practitioner transitioning from face-to-face sessions to distant healing and wondering which video meeting solution to use? This short post might help you out.
With over 1.5 billion active users worldwide, WhatsApp is the most popular mobile messenger app worldwide. Owned by Facebook, it offers end-to-end encryption by default and is easy to use, provided that both you and your client use a smartphone – cross-platform compatibility between Apple and Android devices makes this a first choice. The only drawback is that you cannot yet make video calls via WhatsApp from a laptop or desktop computer.
Messenger by Facebook
There are about 2.3 billion active users on Facebook, so the chances are that both you and your client have an account. Facebook have recently launched their popular messenger app for desktop Apple and Windows devices should you prefer to make video calls on a bigger screen.
Skype
Skype has been around for more than 15 years now and offers both audio and video calls, chat conversations and is available on mobile and desktop devices. Even though a solid platform overall, probably not the go-to solution unless you and your client already have an account. Otherwise, the set-up process and finding each other’s usernames amongst the millions of accounts can be a bit of a “faff”.
Zoom
Popular with businesses and teams, Zoom saw a 20x increase in user numbers the last 3 months alone. Once you download and install the mobile or desktop app, you can easily schedule calls and share the invitation link with your client in advance. The free account is no longer limited to a 40-minute call only as 2 participants can join a video call with an almost unlimited duration. Both Zoom and Skype allow for calls to be recorded should you need this functionality, but there have been recent news reports of recorded Zoom video calls having been leaked online. The video call quality seems to be the best amongst all so far mentioned, even though the audio can stutter a bit during busy periods.
Which solution to choose? Ease of use and security features will probably be some of the most important criteria to consider when choosing a platform for your video calls, but ultimately, you may go with an app which is most convenient for your client to use in order to make the session experience more polished around the edges. Consideration needs also be given to the available internet bandwidth in your area as you might need to switch from video to voice call if the call quality starts dropping. From personal experience, my clients mostly appreciate having the feeling that I am “present” with them during a distant healing session. I therefore make sure to say a few assuring words every few minutes or even ring a small bell to let my clients know that the call has not dropped and that they can still talk to me.
Which video call solution do you use to connect with your clients? Please tell us here - we could add a link to Mail Chimp's survey