Over the last year, digital meetings have come into our lives whether we welcomed it or not. It was an abrupt entry that left everyone learning on the fly. With the forecast calling for still more online meetings in the foreseeable future, we’ve decided to put together a list of Top 5 Video Conference Etiquette Tips to help you avoid becoming a case study in online meetings faux pas.

1. Don’t lurk – make eye contact

Turn on the camera! Remote meetings are already quite impersonal – meeting with your camera off makes any human connection virtually impossible. And when you do turn it on, position yourself so that the camera shows you waist or chest up and look right into it instead of looking at your face on the screen. Looking right into the camera gives your audience the impression of eye contact making the interaction much more natural.

2. They can see you

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We know that many of us have been in sweatpants going on a year now, but don’t let that lax dress code creep into your business meetings. Your look often speaks volumes and so does your conduct during video calls, so no eating and doing any personal stuff unrelated to the meeting. We’ve heard of horror stories of personal grooming or using the bathroom on Zoom, but we know this couldn’t have been you.

3. No busy backgrounds

Like it or not, we are nosy creatures and whatever you have behind you in the view of the camera will undoubtedly attract the attention of your colleagues – not ideal. If you can’t arrange a relatively plain setting for the call that won’t be distracting, use a virtual background that will drown out anything behind you – just choose a reasonable design. Also remember about background noise and mute yourself when you’re not speaking.

4. Host, don’t ghost

Hosting a videocall comes with a set of added responsibilities, some obvious, some less so. The obvious: get there early, check the internet connection and introduce everyone individually. But also set breaks about every hour and a half where you turn off your audio and video, introduce all the latecomers and always be the last to leave the meeting. Finally, always ask for permission before recording – it’s not just good manners but also the law.
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5. Tech check

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Finally, play around with the various conference functions you may use during calls.Take some time to familiarize yourself with how to share different screens, and learn what different views look like and what’s visible to whom. This may help you avoid some embarrassing moments when unknowingly you may be showing tabs you wouldn’t want others to see.

 

The bottom line is, online video meetings are here to stay and these tips will ensure that your meetings will go smoothly and without embarrassment. Our NovoDisplay and NovoTouch panels come with pre-installed apps from most popular video conferencing tools ready to get you started. Book an online meeting with us to discuss your collaboration and digital signage needs – just write to info@vivitek.eu

 

Wish to save our top rules and share it with the team? Feel free to download our infographic and use it in practise during your next video conference.