The modern world is saturated with technologies for home, sports, life and, of course, business. In recent years, remote and hybrid work formats have entered our lives, and video conferencing has become an integral part of communications in the business environment.
Video conferencing (VKS) became widespread in business in 2020, when COVID-19 forced people to work from home. Soon, stories began to appear about awkward or inappropriate behavior during video meetings. Moving to the virtual space, many forget that there are also norms of behavior for it. Knowing and applying them in practice is an important part of success in the modern work environment.
In this article, we have collected tips on VKS etiquette that will help you become a professional in video calls and avoid unpleasant situations.
Modern video conferencing platforms and their capabilities
The business sphere has received huge benefits from the use of video conferencing. Effective communication between teams, employees and clients has become more accessible. One of the main advantages of video meetings is the ability to communicate in real time with people from different parts of the world. For the business environment, this is important because it allows you to hold virtual meetings, discuss strategies and make decisions, even if the participants are on different continents. This significantly reduces the time spent on organizing meetings and ensures prompt decision-making.
It is important that video conferencing significantly saves time that was previously spent on travel and flights. Employees become more productive, and the company can significantly reduce expenses on business trips, accommodation and transportation. The ability to hold video conferences gives participants greater flexibility in choosing a time for meetings, which is especially important for international teams whose employees are located in different time zones.
Modern video conferencing platforms have a number of convenient and effective options that provide many advantages in the field of business. Let's look at the example of the eXpress platform:
- creating instant conferences in one click directly from the chat;
- scheduling conferences by creating an event in the participants' calendar;
- joining a conference via a guest link without having to register on the platform;
- chat bot to remind you of upcoming conferences;
- screen sharing;
- call recording;
- raising a hand;
- live reactions to a speech;
- conference chat with the ability to exchange messages.
Read about all the advantages and available features of the eXpress platform here
How to behave during a video conference
A virtual meeting is still a meeting. As in real life, good manners are important for all your business meetings. Let's look at what actions will help maintain professionalism during video conferences.
Preparing for the meeting
Before joining the meeting, make sure your audio and video are set up correctly. Test your internet connection to avoid possible problems, a weak or non-working internet can be an irritant for all participants. There are now tools that you can use to check your connection and measure your internet speed beforehand.
Technology issues can delay or derail a meeting, so you need to make sure that all of your video conferencing equipment is working properly.
Here's a checklist to use before an important video call:
- Check your software;
- Check the quality of your headset and microphone;
- Check the speed and stability of your internet connection;
- Make sure your camera is working;
- Run a video and audio quality test;
- If you need any apps for the call, make sure everything is enabled and working.
Clothing and Appearance
When working from home, it can be tempting to wear your favorite t-shirt all day, forget to brush your hair, or look unkempt, but still think about how you will appear on camera. You don’t have to wear something fancy, but if you are attending a conference where the camera is turned on, take care of your appearance before the meeting to make a positive impression.
Your choice of clothing can definitely affect how others perceive you. So if you are trying to impress a potential client or want your team to take you seriously, be sure to dress appropriately. For example, you can use company merch. It's stylish and at the same time serves as hidden advertising (product placement).
Etiquette during a video conference
Don't be late. This rule applies not only to face-to-face meetings. Try to join the meeting a few minutes before it starts. You can use this time to fix any last-minute technical issues or prepare links to documents if you need them during the call.
If for some reason you are running late for a call, be sure to let your team know when they can expect you. Respect your colleagues and partners' time.
Introduce yourself and greet your colleagues before the meeting. As with face-to-face meetings, it is important to say "good afternoon" or "hello" at the beginning to set a friendly tone at the outset. There is no need to introduce participants every time if the call is within a team and everyone knows each other. If a new person has joined the call, take the time to introduce yourself and introduce others if you are the meeting organizer. The same goes for conferences with customers and partners - here it is also important to indicate your position and the scope of the tasks you are solving in the context of interaction with them.
Maintain eye contact. Eye contact is an important part of our communication. During a conversation, look directly into the camera lens, and not at the screen, otherwise it seems as if you are looking away and not paying attention to the interlocutor. To help you remember this rule, you can place something above your webcam, such as a sticky note, as a reminder.
Be mindful of sounds. Even if you are not speaking and it seems completely silent, most microphones can pick up minor background noises such as coughing, sneezing, or typing. These sounds can be distracting to other participants in the video conference and even annoying. Also, make sure that the sounds on your devices are muted, and do not allow notifications from applications to interrupt your speech.
Do not interrupt other team members. Accidentally talking at the same time as other participants in a video call is a common occurrence. This can happen for many reasons, such as differences in internet speed or difficulty recognizing some of the non-verbal cues that we can pick up in person. To avoid hesitation or overlapping voices, pause briefly after someone has finished speaking.
If you want to take the floor or speak up, use the Raise Hand feature. It will allow other participants to be properly notified of your desire to speak without interrupting the ongoing discussion.
When running a meeting, you can ask participants to signal in the chat in advance when they have questions or want to speak, and then invite them to speak at the end of the meeting.
Avoid multitasking. You wouldn’t check your email, give a presentation, or have a snack while you’re in a face-to-face meeting – it’s impolite to your partners. A video conference should be no exception. Just like in a face-to-face meeting, it’s important to be respectful of your teammates and give them your time and attention during the call.
Place your camera correctly. The history of video conferences knows of funny cases when meeting participants had to look at their colleagues' nostrils or cleavage. When setting up your camera, make sure it is at eye level. Do not place the camera too high, so that participants do not look down at you. If the camera is installed too low, you can get bad angles.
Speak clearly. Clear and understandable speech is an important element of video conferences. You should speak so that other participants can catch every word you say. Do not babble, try to slow down if you are a fast talker by nature. When giving a presentation, pause between slides to give participants time to understand everything and ask questions if necessary.
Respect your colleagues' time. Do not waste time on long introductions, do not engage in self-promotion, and do not drag out your speech. Prepare a clear agenda for the online meeting to ensure it is as effective as possible without any small talk.
Say goodbye. When ending the meeting, thank all participants for their time and active participation. Say goodbye to colleagues and do not forget to disconnect from the video conference to avoid any awkward situations.
Conclusion
In the early days of adapting to new working conditions and using video conferencing, we often encountered unsuccessful experiences with online meetings. When most of us first switched to remote work, video conferencing etiquette had not yet developed, and funny situations could be forgiven. But now that hybrid and remote work have become the norm, there is no excuse for bad video conferences. Using simple rules of digital etiquette can make video calls more valuable and effective.
Video conferencing and meetings are not going to disappear from our lives anytime soon, so organizations should invest in new technologies that improve the quality of video conferencing, and participants in video meetings should remember that maintaining digital etiquette is everyone’s personal responsibility.
