NETIQUETTE: A guide for virtual workspace
Here’s how you can be on your best behavior and impress others during your next video conference.
Even before, we were struck with COVID-19 pandemic, we had online meetings but amidst this pandemic, it has become the only way to continue our work and stay afloat. Our behavior and presentation are very significant even during a virtual workspace and this article will help you with tips for the same. So, follow these simple ways to be more presentable and main the decorum online.
1. Be Prepared:
Similarly, as though you were to plan an in-person meeting, it’s never in acceptable taste to burn an invitee’s time. On the off chance that you do, this shows you don’t regard their significant time. Furthermore, in light of the fact that it’s a bit much, participants won’t be locked in with the occasion.
To put it plainly, the main standard of virtual gathering manners is to ensure that it’s gainful and helpful. The most ideal approach to ensure that is by doing a lot of getting ready ahead of time, yet it takes two to tango.
Some tips for organizers:
· Prepare an agenda and share it with the invitees well in advance. If possible, set time according to their convenience to get maximum turn up. This will work as a roadmap.
· The agenda should include who should be attending the meeting, date, time, purpose, and the platform being used. If the invitees are not familiar with the platform make sure that you also provide them with a guide on how to access and operate the platform which you will be using for the meeting.
· Make sure you delegate the responsibilities before the meeting embarks as, it will help you save time and they will be able to ask all the specific doubts in the meeting itself and also assign roles if any for the meeting, for example, timekeeper, scriber, etc.
· Be prepared with your content way before the meeting and don’t forget to check if the application on which you made the presentation is compatible and working on the platform you will be using for the meeting.
· Also, check your mic and speaker before entering a meeting. Make sure you have a good understanding of the platform you will be using.
Some tips for the attendees:
· Make sure you are well versed with the agenda and prepared with any doubts or concerns you have regarding the same.
· Be prepared with the platform on which you will be taking your notes. Try joining a meeting before time, as you might be locked out of a meeting if you join late due to network issues.
Things with everyone should keep in mind:
- Work from a quiet room that’s free from distractions like pets or family members. Bonus points if this room is carpeted since that reduces reverberation.
- Use a neutral background, like a grey-colored wall. Some tools like Zoom have a virtual background you could use if this isn’t feasible.
- Make sure the room is brightly lit.
- Use your laptop and not your phone since it’s more steady and keeps you hands-free to take notes. For audio-only meetings, invest in a decent pair of headphones with a built-in mic. Bonus tip: raise your webcam to eye level.
- Always test your tech before the meeting. For phones, that means having a strong signal and no interference. On a computer, making sure your connection is working, turning your camera on, and double-checking your mic and speakers.
2. Follow Netiquettes during the call:
The Core Rules of Netiquette are excerpted from the book Netiquetteby Virginia Shea.
Rule 1: Remember the Human
Please remember that behind the screens, you are having a conversation with real humans with feelings. Nothing is more irritating than trying to have a conversation with someone who is engrossed in their phone or computer. If someone is in the room with you, stop what you are doing and look at them. Don’t answer your cell phone unless it is to tell the person on the other end that you will call them right back. When communicating electronically, whether through email, instant message, discussion post, text, or some other method, practice the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. Remember, your written words are read by real people, all deserving of respectful communication. Before you press “send” or “submit,” ask yourself, “Would I be okay with this if someone else had written it?”
Rule 2: Adhere to the same standards of behavior online that you follow in real life
While it can be argued that standards of behavior may be different in the virtual world, they certainly should not be lower. You should do your best to act within the laws and ethical manners of society whenever you inhabit “cyberspace.”. Name-calling, cursing, expressing deliberately offensive opinions — if you wouldn’t do it to the face of anyone who might conceivably see what you write, don’t write it. This goes for any social media site, forum, chat room, or email message, even if you think it can’t be traced back to you. It can. And it’s not just what you say, but how you say it. Either take the trouble to use the shift key for capital letters, or write in all lower case, but don’t use caps lock. Text in all caps is generally perceived as yelling. Please don’t forget to say please and thank you as appropriate.
Rule 3: Know where you are in cyberspace
“Netiquette varies from domain to domain.” (Shea, 1994) Depending on where you are in the virtual world, the same written communication can be acceptable in one area, where it might be considered inappropriate in another. What you text to a friend may not be appropriate in an email to a classmate or colleague. If you would have a problem with your boss, your parents, or your kids seeing it now, or at any point in the future, don’t post it online. The same goes for phone conversations in public places. Just because you can’t see the person you are talking to doesn’t mean everyone around you can’t see and hear you.
Rule 4: Respect other people’s time and bandwidth
Electronic communication takes time: time to read and time in which to respond. Most people today lead busy lives, just like you do, and don’t have time to read or respond to frivolous emails or discussion posts. As a virtual world communicator, it is your responsibility to make sure that the time spent reading your words isn’t wasted. Make your written communication meaningful and to the point, without extraneous text or superfluous graphics or attachments that may take forever to download.
Rule 5: Make yourself look good online
If the online space brought any good, it’s the comfort of sitting at your home in comfortable clothes! Nobody can judge your appearance, voice tone, or what you wear. You will, however, be judged based on your content and engagement, so keep these tips in mind:
o Perform spell-checking and grammar errors, especially in professional communications. I personally use Grammarly, it’s FREE an integrates seamlessly with anything I write online; like magic!
o Make sure you did your homework on the subject and chose clear words.
o Be positive and courteous in your general behavior.
Rule 6: Share expert knowledge
The Internet offers its users many benefits; one is the ease in which information can be shared or accessed and in fact, this “information sharing” capability is one of the reasons the Internet was founded. So, in the spirit of the Internet’s “founding fathers,” share what you know! When you post a question and receive intelligent answers, share the results with others. Are you an expert at something? Post resources and references about your subject matter. Recently expanded your knowledge about a subject that might be of interest to others? Share that as well.
Rule 7: Help keep flame wars under control
What is meant by “flaming” and “flame wars?” “Flaming is what people do when they express a strongly held opinion without holding back any emotion.” (Shea, 1994). As an example, think of the kinds of passionate comments you might read on a sports blog. While “flaming” is not necessarily forbidden in virtual communication, “flame wars,” when two or three people exchange angry posts between one another, must be controlled or the camaraderie of the group could be compromised. Don’t feed the flames; extinguish them by guiding the discussion back to a more productive direction.
Rule 8: Respect other people’s privacy
Depending on what you are reading in the virtual world, be it an online class discussion forum, Facebook page, or an email, you may be exposed to some private or personal information that needs to be handled with care. Perhaps someone is sharing some medical news about a loved one or discussing a situation at work. What do you think would happen if this information “got into the wrong hands?” Embarrassment? Hurt feelings? Loss of a job? Just as you expect others to respect your privacy, so should you respect the privacy of others. Be sure to err on the side of caution when deciding to discuss or not to discuss virtual communication.
Rule 9: Don’t abuse your power
Just like in face-to-face situations, there are people in cyberspace who have more “power” than others. They have more expertise in technology or they have years of experience in a particular skill or subject matter. Maybe it’s you who possesses all of this knowledge and power! Just remember: knowing more than others do or having more power than others may have does not give you the right to take advantage of anyone. Think of Rule 1: Remember the human.
Rule 10: Be forgiving of other people’s mistakes
Not everyone has the same amount of experience working in the virtual world. And not everyone knows the rules of netiquette. At some point, you will see a stupid question, read an unnecessarily long response, or encounter misspelled words; when this happens, practice kindness and forgiveness as you would hope someone would do if you had committed the same offense. If it’s a minor “offense,” you might want to let it slide. If you feel compelled to respond to a mistake, do so in a private email rather than a public forum.
3. Take follow-up:
“Even the best meetings will prove worthless if no one takes notes or outlines follow-up tasks,” writes Marty Fukuda. “To this end, designate an attendee (not the facilitator) to take minutes.” They should also know that it’s their responsibility to “email a summary to all participants following the meeting.”
Hence, make a person responsible for scribing minutes of the meeting on the agenda which will be shared with the invitees beforehand. Additionally, if there are any questions or concerns that weren’t addressed, add them to the next agenda or schedule a one-on-one with that individual. And since this meeting went off without a hitch, make arrangements for your next successful virtual meeting.
Conclusion:
As we all know, this pandemic has led us to adapt to the “new normal”. Netiquette gives us a path on how to use the internet in a correct and acceptable way. The internet isn’t a new world in which anything goes, but rather, it as a new dimension of the world around us. It is imperative, and of utmost importance that we follow the above mentioned guidelines and respect the culture of our workspace and our peers.
References:
1. computerworld.com/article/3250684/10-tips-to-set-up-your-home-office-for-videoconferencing.html
