Conference Call Do's and Don'ts

As an agency, we cover a large geographical area. We often rely on meetings via zoom or Hangout to keep us connected. Lately, we have received some questions regarding best practices for video conference meetings. Whether you're meeting from home or your office, here's a list of do's and don'ts that we recommend using to ensure quality, professional meetings. A good rule of thumb is to treat a video conference meeting just like you would a face to face meeting.

1. Do: Test your microphone before your video conference meeting. Nothing is worse than trying to share something critical and not being able to communicate clearly due to poor audio quality or volume. 
2. Do: Mute your microphone whenever you’re not speaking. Background noise can often be a distraction and interrupt a meeting’s flow. Be sure to unmute before speaking. 
3. Do: Be aware of your video’s settings. Test your camera before the meeting and make sure it is on during the meeting. 
4. Do: Make sure your room is well lit. Be careful to not sit in front of a bright light source, such as a window on a sunny day, as that will make it difficult to see you. Be aware of where light is coming from, so you can be easily seen by others in the meeting. 
5. Do: Wear appropriate clothing. When working from home, it can be tempting to wear a work shirt and athletic shorts. However, it is important to dress as if you're meeting face to face. You never know if you're going to have to get up suddenly or if your camera might fall. Wearing typical work clothes will also help to make you feel more professional. 
6. Do: Ensure your wall art or decorations are work appropriate and your surroundings clean. This also includes your desk. 
7. Do: Introduce yourself before you talk, when you are in a group call without video. 
8. Do: Look into the camera when you're talking. Try to avoid looking at yourself talking on the computer screen. This will help your audience feel like you're 100 percent engaged and present. 
9. Do: Consider using “Gallery View” in zoom, so you can see all participants in the meeting. This helps give a video conference meeting more of a face to face meeting feel. 
10. Don’t: Position your camera too low or too high. Weird camera angles can be very distracting during video conference calls. Make sure your camera is eye level and on the monitor you plan to use. The camera shouldn’t be off to the side of where you will be looking. 
11. Don’t: Check or read emails while on the video call. It’s hard to be fully engaged and you are likely to miss out on the full meaning of the message being delivered. Also, it’s easy for other participant’s to tell if you aren't fully focused and present during the video call. 
12. Don’t: Engage in conversations with others in the room, while you are in a video conference meeting. 
13. Do: Treat a video conference meeting just lie you would a face to face meeting.