Meeting on video call becomes a new normal nowadays. That is why it is important to be aware of video conferencing etiquette.
If your company is dealing with clients all over the world and if you have remote team members then you must find yourself busy in Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Skype, Google Meet, etc. These virtual meeting software’s has their own challenges sometimes and you have to take care of certain things to conduct an effective remote meeting.
From camera positioning to lighting I have covered it all in this article. These tips will help you to maintain your professionalism. So let’s read further.
Best Tips on Video Conferencing Etiquette
- Be early and test your devices
If you want to show up on time then try to be a little early and check your tech devices. You can check your internet connectivity, headphones, battery backup, etc. This way the possibility of any delay due to some errors becomes negligible. And you can save yours as well as others time too.
- Mute and Unmute
Whenever you are speaking you can unmute and when not you can mute your mike. This way others will not hear any kind of sound like Television, construction, etc from your side. But remember to unmute your mike whenever you are talking.
- Choose a good space with proper light
It is good to be in proper light while having a zoom call. Generally, people want to sit in natural light which is a good thing to do. But make sure that when to close your curtains or switch on your lamp to avoid too much light from outside on your face.
You can check your light by using your laptop webcam before the call and see how it looks where you are going to attend your meeting.
- Dress appropriately
Yes, you should dress properly at least to the waist up for your meeting. It is one of the advantages of working from home that you do not need to dress up but when you are having call or group discussions you should dress up in a professional way. You can avoid your professional bottoms if you want to.
It is a good practice if you can wear something decent on the top every morning so that if suddenly you get a video call you can take up that without any delay.
- Frame the camera correctly
This is another very important thing to make your meeting successful. You must have seen people on zoom call having seen through side faces or sometimes too top or too low. To avoid this properly place your camera in front of you not too high and not too low where your face can be seen.
- Pay attention
You should not do any other task when you are at the conference. Do not work on presentations or check your emails while having a video call. Chances are you might miss out on things. Research conducted at Stanford University says that multitasking can reduce your productivity than doing a single task at a time.
- Make it more personal
When during web meetings you look at your devices more often instead of making eye contact. It is advisable to you that you should make eye contact while speaking. If you are on a group call try to make eye contact with everyone this will make your meeting more real.
- Change background
You can change your background or blur it to eliminate distractions. But make sure not to add something which does not look professional like a bird or clouds etc. Many software like the Microsoft team allows you to blur or change the background completely.
- Chat function
Often times when many people speak up at the same time it makes the situation awkward and nobody will understand anything. So use the chat function most video conferencing software offers the chat feature.
You can ask questions publically or privately to each other without disturbing others and interfering with the flow of the meeting.
- Do not disappear
When you are having an online meeting you should not just disappear by signing off from the platform. If you have something scheduled and there is a time clash you can inform your manager or any other concerned person before the call or at the start of the discussion.
Never leave the conference in between without informing.
- Turn off notifications
Before your conference starts turn off your notifications or put your device on silent. If you attending a webinar and notifications pop up every single minute it may be distracting and you are not able to hear the other person who is speaking because of your notifications sound.
You can turn them on later on after your call is over.
- Choose a quiet place
You have checked your devices, lighting, and camera placement. But it is good that you find a quiet place for yourself if you can where no one disturbs you and you can avoid noise.
Make sure to lock the door before the meeting starts so that the kids or pets may not come in and interfere with your meeting.
13. Check things when sharing screen
When you are sharing your screen make sure to close unnecessary tabs so that others will see clearly what you are talking about. You can close others documents or files which you do not want to show and hide your notification when you are presenting.
Conclusion
At last, I wanted to say that be humble with your other coworkers while having meetings over the web. Not every single person is comfortable with virtual meetings. You should ask them if they need any technical assistance. Helping and guiding others will increase their confidence and make them feel more comfortable.
Over to You
Have you attended virtual meetings? Do you have any stories to tell? Please share your experiences.
I would love to hear from you.