Business students throughout the world have been trained to have efficient and productive meetings, but some of those who went through business school a decade ago may not know how to act in an online meeting. Following the same etiquette as a regular meeting does not actually apply to the manner in which you should handle yourself in the virtual world. After all, some of the little things that can be excused in a regular meeting will bring everything to a screeching halt if you try to do them in the middle of a video conference. Here are a few of the things you should avoid doing at all costs.
Stay on Track
When presenting to a room of people, you want to engage them as much as possible. This might include using a few antidotes, but when you’re using video conference software from companies like Blue Jeans, you’re much better off getting right to the heart of the matter. According to Venture Beat, if you get off track, you’re giving license for everyone else on the call to get off track as well. This might even include some of the people on the call doing something aside from the meeting, like texting or checking on some social media posts. If you stay on track, you’ll set the tone to let everyone else know they have to stay on track as well.
Focus on the Task at Hand
When you’re in a meeting and you notice you just got an email from an important client or even a text from your buddy, you might think there’s no harm in giving a response. In fact, everyone can see that you’re distracted and that you’re not giving the meeting your full attention. If the others on the call happen to not notice your distraction, you may miss out on some key elements of the meeting. Imagine your embarrassment if you’re engrossed with an email response and you realize you just been asked a question and you were not paying attention. Ignore everything else, but the meeting. If something is urgent and demands your attention, excuse yourself from the meeting for a second.
Don’t Expect People to Know You’re Talking to Them
Whenever you’re on a video conferencing call, you may be looking directly at the person you’re talking to on your screen, but the person you’re talking to doesn’t know that. This is even true when using high quality software from a company like Blue Jeans. According to Fast Company, you have to treat video conferencing a bit like radio. Instead of just talking to the person and expecting they will know you’re talking to them, indicate you’re talking to them by name. Start your sentence off with the person’s name and then go right into what you’re saying. This serves to not only let the person know you’re talking to them, but also commands attention from the whole group.
Don’t Be Distracting with Noises
Small noises can be ignored in a regular meeting, but not in a video conference. This is why you need to turn you cell phone off and avoid typing while you’re on the call, according to Inc. Magazine. If you’re going to need to type something while you’re on a video conference call, hit mute on your microphone. Otherwise every click will resonate in the sound systems of everyone who is on the call. You should also try to eliminate background noise, so having your meeting while you’re sitting outside or in a busy coffee shop may not be the best idea. This doesn’t mean you need a conference room; you just need a quiet area to talk.
Don’t Do Anything to Make it Harder to Understand You
While you’re talking on the video conference call, you need to make sure you’re speaking as clearly as possible. This means you should not eat or drink anything while you’re trying to talk. Remove any gum if you have any in your mouth and make sure everyone on the call can hear you. Talk directly to the microphone and make sure to raise your voice slightly above speaking tone. This way, you’re assured everyone on the call will hear everything you have to say.
Don’t Dress Unprofessionally
Even if you’re not in the office, you still need to look professional on your video conference call, according to Bright Hub. If you’re accustomed to wearing a suit and tie in your line of work, you shouldn’t break from this norm even if you’re having the meeting while you’re on vacation. You don’t want to stand out from the rest of the people on the call and draw attention to yourself as someone who doesn’t care. Since everyone will only see the top half of your body, you can simply wear a shirt, tie and coat. Once your meeting is over, you can go back to what you were wearing.
