If you find yourself sequestered at home and have to either attend or manage a number of virtual meetings, here are some effective and much-needed tips to ensure your meeting is a successful one:
Logistics - When sending out the meeting appointment/email, include the link to access the meeting with any additional info that might be needed — start date/time, access code, alternate phone numbers in case their audio is off, and your direct line to text you if they run into issues.
Close All Other Programs - Many programs are background bandwidth hogs and could affect your system’s speed (email is the worst offender). Close all programs except for the ones you might share during the meeting. Inform your family too — online games and tv streaming also take up a large fraction of bandwidth.
Lighting - Make sure your face is well-lit — too many people are in a shadow, out of focus or askew with the camera. A bright, clear image presents professionalism and understanding of the medium.
Look At The Camera - This is a hard one — most people tend to stare at the screen and not the little webcam dot on their laptop, especially when speaking. Take a Post-It note and tear it into two small 1-inch pieces — on one draw a smiley-face and on the other, the word ‘SMILE’. Place these two bits of paper on either side of your webcam lens. Focus on the smiley-face as if you’re talking to a person. The ‘SMILE’ reminder encourages us not to have an angry resting face and smile when speaking with others.
Mute Yourself - When you’re not speaking, ALWAYS hit mute to ensure any extraneous noise isn’t sent over the entire meeting. This is one of the biggest pet peeves of virtual meetings. Learn the keystrokes to mute/unmute quickly and to ensure you can speak up when asked.
Don’t Eat/Don’t Multitask - Eating is just plain unprofessional - unless it’s a lunchtime meeting, don’t eat (drinking is fine). Also, don’t check your email - we can all see when the screen brightness changes on your face - so we know you’re not focusing on the meeting at hand. Don’t check your phone either - we can see you look down - it’s rude and unprofessional when people are speaking.
Wear earphones/airpods - Most virtual meeting systems are great with feedback and echo/reverb, but some systems might not work well with your hardware when listening to attendees through your speakers. Wear earphones/airpods to ensure no echo/reverb explodes over the call. It seems every webinar I hold, there’s one sad individual who has this issue.
Dress professionally - Too many people look like they just got out of bed when they log into their virtual meeting. Take a shower, comb/style your hair, and change out of your pajamas. You don’t have to wear a business suit, but look presentable — it connotes that you’re on top of things.
Avoid Distractions - Ask your family to stay away for the time being and sequester your pets. Even though you might be on mute, visual distractions (like people walking behind you) are just as jarring. Try to have your back to a wall to ensure no movement in the camera lens.
Frame Your Face - Don’t let your body/posture be askew with the camera image — everything from missing foreheads, no mouth, or too far left/right in the frame. Center yourself, make sure the cam presents your entire face with a bit of body. Again, you look professional and ready to manage the meeting.
Login Early - Start your meeting early to allow participants to show up and gab a bit before you start the meeting. It will get it out of their system so you can all focus on the challenges of the day.
Speak Clearly - Ensure your microphone is transmitting your voice optimally and don’t mumble — keep your voice clear and speak slowly. Sometimes people miss what you just said and you don’t want to have to repeat it.
Keep It Short - No one likes a two-hour virtual meeting. Send out an agenda prior to the meeting and stick to it. If you get off-topic, bring it back to the agenda and tell the worst offenders to take their discussion/issue offline. You are a virtual drill sergeant — keep them on point, marching in a straight line, and people will look forward to your online meetings.
Stay On Afterward - If you are managing the meeting for your staff, stick around after attendees are logging off for any questions from your team. You will be able to chat with them quickly and solve an issue/question while the topic is fresh.
Test, Test, Test - Be prepared — way before the actual meeting (especially with a large group), make sure all elements are in place: connection, lighting, planned topics, agenda, camera positioning, noise, distractions, etc.
I might have forgotten one - feel free to contact me with new ones I might have missed.