Tips for Headache-Free Videoconferencing
Business meetings have been happening via videoconference as long as the capability has existed, however pandemic circumstances have increased the necessity for remote meetings and increased their frequency. Zoom is now a household word, almost as pervasive as Googling.
There are many options when it comes to videoconferencing, however this post won’t delve into features or comparisons. Some of the better known options for videoconferencing include the aforementioned Zoom, plus Skype, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Webex, and others.
For this post, I’ll share some best practices for hosting a business videoconference. Follow these guidelines and your meeting will flow smoothly and you’ll accomplish your mission.
Tips for Headache-Free Videoconferencing
Setup the meeting properly: It always helps to set up a meeting properly. Send out an agenda with the invite. Ensure that time zones are considered. Identify a note taker and a time keeper.
Start on time. This is a good rule of thumb for any meeting. Let people know as they join the meeting that you plan to start on time. Be nice about it, but stick to it unless there is a major consideration, like the big boss is going to be there five minutes late.
Kick it off properly. Another good practice for any meeting, kick things off with a brief overview of the agenda and introductions to ensure everyone knows who’s participating. On a video conference, it’s often difficult to see everyone, so this alleviates that concern.
Manage background noise. Keep an ear open for background noise coming from participants and ask them to mute themselves in that case, or take initiative to mute them yourself. Your other participants will thank you.
Accommodate lag. Understand that there may be some lag in the connections that cause pauses in sound and/or video. To be proactive, keep responses relatively short, pause once you’ve spoken, and also pause for a few seconds prior to speaking. Just don’t get frustrated if there is an abundance of lag. It happens and normally, participants understand and accept it.
Manage responses. Ensure your team keeps things streamlined by limiting responses to any questions or debates to 1-2 at most. This will keep the conversation flowing and reduce over-speaking.
Close properly. As with any meeting, ensure that you recap the important discussion points and any action items, discuss next steps, and thank your participants for their time.
Summary
Videoconferencing as become even more popular — and even necessary — during these pandemic times. But meetings must go on, and following some best practices can help ensure a good, professional experience for everyone involved.
Feel free to share your own experiences with videoconferencing, and any commendations for adds/edits to this list.