By Stephanie Hill, Marketing & Virtual Experience Manager, Meyers Nave, APC
Do:
- Test your connection, internet strength, and speakers ahead of time (and whether it’s best for you to use your computer’s audio or mute the computer and use your phone)
- Practice, practice, practice – have virtual coffee dates or fireside chats with friends/family to get comfortable
- Provide a phone number option for those that do not want to participate virtually
- Hard line into your network
- If unable, the closest to your router is best, and reduce other household devices on WiFi during the time of your meeting.
- When’s the last time you called your home internet company and checked your internet package rate/speed?
- Check platforms for any recent updates
- Disconnect from GoToMyPC or VPN
- Copy/Paste your meeting link/details on your desktop for easy access while off the network (not needed for Teams)
- Scan your environment – noise or visual interruptions (what’s behind you?)
- Be vigilant of MUTE for yourself or all if you are the host (tip: with Zoom, you can hit the space bar to mute on/off)
- Use Chat features to field questions
- Relax – this is your time to let others have a peek into your world and to build a more human connection with you (everyone is managing kids, barking dogs, gardeners, etc.)
Don’t:
- Arrive late – especially if you are the host
- Share your screen with confidential documents visible (disable new email pop-ups)
- Be loud – try your best to minimize noise interruptions
- Hit record without permission
- Be too casual – no one wants to see you in your pajamas
Other Considerations:
- Frame Awareness
- Center yourself (you now present yourself in a box – so be aware of what’s inside that box)
- Have a clean background
- Have ample lighting
- Minimize distractions (noise or visual)
- Camera Awareness
- Turn on your camera (but if you don’t want to, acknowledge that to other participants don’t try to be stealth-like)
- Pay attention to where you are looking, especially in a dual monitor environment
- Look at the camera when talking to establish eye contact (don’t look at your screen or one particular participant when you are talking)
- Avoid multitasking when the camera is on. If you are taking notes, tell people that you will be taking notes during the presentation.
- Mute yourself when others are talking (your microphone picks up sound which can highlight or maximize the way others view you)
- In a group meeting, exercise this habit: unmute, talk, mute
- Video Conference Etiquette
- Ensure dial and launch links are in the meeting invitation (especially important for those using a mobile device)
- Send out an agenda ahead of time if you are the host
- Before beginning the agenda, give a quick roll call of who is participating (the host should do this, don’t have people raising their hands or calling out their names)
- Send out a summary after the meeting with assigned action items
- Use “polls” to get a sense of how people are reacting to your content or to build consensus around key topics
- For group meetings, assign a note taker if you are not using the record feature
- Respect the start/stop time
Categorized in: General
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