Everyone always looks forward to a prompt, productive and seamless virtual meeting. It is therefore important for one to have virtual meeting etiquette as it contributes to the promptness, productivity and seamlessness of the meeting. It also gains one respect as they appear professional and put together. The following tips will help you maintain virtual meeting etiquette:
- Go through the agenda beforehand
Going through the agenda is very crucial as it tells you the points for discussion and what to expect at the meeting. This ensures you are prepared and gives you the confidence to attend and participate in the meeting. The agenda is usually circulated before the meeting. Where it is not, request for it from the secretary or the host.
- Prepare for the meeting
To avoid feeling flustered when asked a question or requested to contribute to the discussion, go through materials beforehand and note down your points of discussion or questions. The documents you intend to use for reference during the virtual meeting should be organized in the order you will refer to them, to save on time and for ease of accessibility. “Failing to plan, is planning to fail.”
- Be on time
Joining the call early so that you can get time to test your camera, microphone, background and internet bandwidth; giving you an opportunity to troubleshoot before the meeting begins. It is also a great opportunity to catch up with others or network with those already on the call since very few people usually remain online after the meeting.
- Dress appropriately
How you dress for virtual meetings should be the equivalent of how you dress for physical meetings. This makes you look professional. Enquire about the dress code in advance, where you are unsure. Don’t fall for the trap of having a professional top but inappropriately dressed at the bottom; because you might forget about it when you need to stand up. Dress appropriately and save yourself from this embarrassment or being a trending topic. You never know who is watching.
- Introduce yourself before you speak
Take a moment to introduce yourself at the beginning of the meeting, especially where you do not know all the participants. This is a good practice, a networking and marketing opportunity, and will leave a lasting positive impression to those who are not familiar with you.
- Be attentive
Give the meeting your full attention and avoid distractions like noise or browsing through your phone. This allows you to be present in the discussion, learn and note down action points that require your attention. If you are easily distracted, taking notes can help you maintain your focus.
- Be polite and give other participants an opportunity to speak
No one is a monopoly of knowledge. In order to learn, one must give others the opportunity to make their contribution. However, where audio delays cause you to speak over other participants, apologize and give them an opportunity to speak before you share what you had in mind.
- Pace Yourself
The success of virtual meetings relies on stable internet connection, good communication, quality audio and video. As such, an unstable internet can distort the audio making it difficult for other participants to understand you. It is therefore essential that you speak slowly and clearly so that others can comprehend what you are saying by reading your lips and watching your facial expressions.
- Stay on until the meeting ends
Stay in the meeting until it ends because it’s unprofessional to be called upon and there’s no response from or you logged off. If you must log off, inform other participants of your departure; even in instances where you are still on call with your video turned off and need to leave momentarily. Where you anticipate this, you can inform them at the beginning of the meeting, to prepare them. You can also leave a message in the chat box if you don’t want to interrupt the meeting, and send another message when you’ve returned.
- Minimize distractions on your end
Noise can quickly derail a meeting and distract others from the presentation. Distracting others makes you look unprofessional. You can minimize distractions by muting yourself, investing in noiseless keyboards, turning off background noise, turning off computer notifications, having your phone on silent, sitting at a quiet place and writing down your notes instead of typing in instances where your microphone must stay on.
- Look directly into the camera when speaking
When speaking, look directly into the camera instead of your notes or the people on your screen. This enables you to maintain eye contact with other participants and enriches your presentation. Lack of eye contact makes you will look like you are talking to no one in particular. Practice looking into your camera lens, avoid fidgeting and memorize your presentation to ensure you don’t break away. If you must refer to your presentation, glance away momentarily before refocusing your attention on the camera.
- Choose an appropriate background
A disorganized background makes you appear unprofessional and can be a source of distraction. Before you join the meeting, ensure you have a good background. Always opt for a plain background with no posters or pictures. Sit somewhere with minimum to no movement. Clear any clutter on your desk to have it neat. This makes you look polished and well prepared.
- Have good lighting
Good lighting improves your camera quality, stimulates a one-on-one meeting and makes you visible to other participants. Ensure you are visible and have a well-lit background, by looking at your video preview before logging onto a meeting.
You can improve your lighting by sitting next to a natural source of light or using artificial lighting like electricity or ring lights. You can also check your video call software settings to adjust the contrast and brightness in order to enhance your video quality. However, be careful not to wash yourself out by using too much lighting as it will make you less visible.
Conclusion
Virtual meetings are critical in enabling one achieve their deliverables and is also way of connecting with others where one works remotely or hasn’t met their colleagues. But a professionally conducted virtual meeting can only happen if you do your part and maintain virtual meeting etiquette. Remember:
“Good manners will open doors that the best education cannot.”
—Clarence Thomas