7 Etiquettes for Virtual Meetings

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, working from home has become the new normal. While working from home can be very exciting, it also comes with limitations to face-to-face interaction. You will have to rely on video conferencing apps or softwares to communicate with your colleagues and other team members.

By now, I expect that you already know better than wearing boxer shorts to a virtual video call, but, there is more.

Here are some boxes to tick before you jump on your next video conferencing call.

1. Use the right software.

There are so many video conferencing apps to choose from. Most of these apps are complicated or meant for entertainment purposes. If your virtual conversation is about business, you should be using a simple software.

The kind that does not require that you set up tripods, and microphones and hire an entire video production team. If you’re worried about a million things, a videoconferencing software should not be one of them.

2. Have a clear goal for the meeting.

Before you begin any virtual meeting, make sure that you have clear goals. What is the meeting for? The answer to this question will determine what to talk about in the meeting.
If you are the organizer, ensure that you send out the meeting agenda to all attendees. This would allow them prepare and make sure that the conversations do not take unexpected turns.

3. Set up your meeting area. Before the meeting starts, clear the area that would be showing on camera. This would limit distractions and help other people joining the meeting focus on what you’re saying.
You can set up in a nice corner of your home, even if you do not have a home office. Nothing fancy, just an area clear from clutter and running children (if you have any).

4. Dress the part.

There is a strong temptation to show up to virtual meetings wearing only pyjamas. Please don’t.

Dressing appropriately shows that you are interested in the conversation. Since you would be in front of a screen for some time, you can protect your eyes by wearing a clear lens or contact lenses.

5. Communicate loud and clear. Due to the delay in communication relay that is all too common with virtual meetings, you need to be loud and clear. This allows other participants to hear what you say.
You do not want to be only one speaking. Involve others in the conversation. This makes the meeting more interesting.

6. Don’t Multitask.

There is literally nothing more annoying to a speaker than a distracted audience. This is true even for face-to-face conversations. So when next you are on a virtual call, limit other distractions. This includes eating, walking about, surfing the net, or replying to emails.

Multitasking could also include the number of other programs that are running on your computer. These programs tend to slow your computer down.

7. Don’t Continue a terrible meeting.

Sometimes, the videoconferencing software you use will mess up big time. All the communications become muffled up and the videos are all blurry. When something like this happens, continuing the meetings would only cause more frustration.
Instead, ask for permission to end the meeting and schedule another time for it.

Remember to tick these boxes before and during a virtual meeting in order to have an hitch free meeting.

Thanks for Reading.

Written by:
Nathan Ojaokomo| For MowithSeyi ©