Page - 87 - in Coaching im digitalen Wandel

Through the eye of the camera 87 matching quotes were pasted under these initial headings. In an iterative process, some of these themes were renamed, and sub and overarching themes identified. Findings The analysis of the participants’ accounts of being coached via Skype shows that the camera is felt to be the defining element of the process: »This is the virtual world and you can only see via this camera« (Interviewee 4). The effects of the camera are ambiguous: it serves as an enabler of contact, it is perceived as a means of surveillance or its presence can create an atmosphere of being on stage or a film set. Overall, the camera makes an impact in three areas: Ȥ The self-image of the coachee in the encounter is defined by their engage- ment with the camera. Ȥ The perception and the relationship with the coach is influenced by the intermediary of the camera. Ȥ The experience of the space coaching takes place in is affected. The perspective of the coachee: Keeping things under control Interviewee 4 emphasised: »The virtual environment changes me and how I think of people«, summing up what most participants describe from different angles: when engaging in coaching using a web cam, very specific consider- ations and concerns arise, many of them related to a strong wish of staying in control of the situation. One example is the urge to check one’s appearance on screen, a phenomenon studied in users of video-conferencing systems by de Vasconcelos Filho et al. (2009). Their findings correlate with what participants of the current study related: their perceived image during the interaction is of high importance to them and makes them inspect their appearance in their own video feed, particularly at the beginning of sessions (op. cit., p. 260). Also, participants cherished the possibility of choosing the location in which to take coaching and to be able to decide what elements of their surroundings to present to their coach. Most of them felt most comfortable doing the sessions at home, in their own territory, where they feel »safe« (Interviewee 4). In addition to their self-image and their location, participants also wanted to control the coach: some interviewees felt the need to move away from the camera, so they could see more of the coach and gain assurance about what they were doing with their hands (Interviewee 11) and many voiced their pref- erence for Skype over telephone coaching, just because it gives them at least Open-Access-Publikation im Sinne der CC-Lizenz BY-NC-ND 4.0