Many professionals still underestimate virtual meetings. They do little to no preparation since these calls happen over video conferencing platforms, plus they could turn off their camera and microphone.
Although virtual meetings are more convenient than in-person gatherings, they aren’t less important. Being ill-prepared could cause delays, impede collaboration, or muddle messages. To ensure professional, efficient virtual meetings, follow these tips when hosting and attending video calls for work.
1. Overlooking Security Measures
Neglecting privacy measures before jumping on work-related video calls is unprofessional and unsafe. You’ll put your meetings at risk of intrusion attacks where third parties hijack random video-conference calls, e.g., Zoom bombing. Note that intruders have varying motives. Some are just internet trolls looking to annoy people, but others are skilled cybercriminals executing data theft.
The best approach is to safeguard meetings by:
It’s worth reading up on ways tokeep your privacy intact when using video conferencing platforms.
2. Leaving Your Microphone on Throughout Meetings
Stop leaving your microphone on throughout video meetings. It will pick up random noises from nearby people, your pets, and running appliances, which participants might find distracting. In worse cases, the sound from your end might drown out others’ voices.
To ensure sound and voice clarity, utilize the mute function judiciously. Turn on your microphone when you’re talking, mute yourself when you’re listening, and click the on-screen emojis if you need to interrupt speakers.
Admittedly, toggling your microphone on and off could get annoying during long meetings. But it’s a simple yet effective way to show respect for others’ contributions and attentiveness during conversations.
Employees should find a neat, professional go-to background for virtual meetings—it will improve the impression you leave on others. They’ll see you as an organized individual who’s always on top of things. Alternatively, a messy, dirty environment makes you come across as someone who barely attends online meetings or collaborations.
Of course, this isn’t to say you should build library shelves in your home office. A plain, clean wall with minimal obstructions looks simple and minimalistic, plus it doesn’t include distracting elements.
But if you’re working with limited space, edit your background. Let’s say you often use Zoom. You can scroll through Zoom’s virtual backdrops or blur your surroundings just before your Zoom call starts. You may also want to learnhow to design your own Zoom background.
4. Using Private Chat Functions for Personal Conversations
Avoid using the private chat function on video-conferencing apps for personal conversations, especially when sharing non-work-related matters. There’s a chance that your supervisors might see these messages. While hosts can’t see private chats in real time, some apps show them in post-call meeting records. It’s safe to assume that employers have total control over company-provided accounts.
But even if your managers don’t manually review private conversations, making disparaging comments during work calls is inappropriate. You could get penalized if anyone sees your messages. Focus on maintaining a respectful, productive atmosphere—save your banter for the appropriate channels.
5. Attending Online Meetings in Improper Settings
Whileremote and hybrid work models offer flexibility, you should still attend virtual meetings in appropriate settings. Stop participating in work calls while driving, traveling, or eating. You’ll merely distract others if you spout haphazard, mindless responses when your attention is divided.
The best approach is to communicate your situation. Either reschedule meetings to your next availability or opt out of participating altogether—both are more appropriate than joining them to feign attendance. If you don’t have a suitable setting to conduct calls at home, you may also want to consider joining a coworking space. If you do, make sure that youconsider various factors before picking your coworking space.
Write a professional, custom OOO email before going on leave. Ensure that your coworkers know who to contact for urgent requests and messages, or else they’ll interrupt your break.
6. Joining Online Meetings Late
Punctuality is important for in-person and virtual meetings alike. It’s inconsiderate to get on calls too late and cause delays. You’ll waste everyone’s time waiting for you.
Also, most video-conferencing apps display alerts when users enter or leave the room, which others might find annoying. Take Zoom as an example. It creates loud bubble sounds whenever someone joins the call—you can’t just sneak into meetings unnoticed. You might even interrupt the main speaker’s train of thought.
To avoid these delays, schedule reminders on calendar apps. Set your alarms to go off five minutes before appointments, then sync them across all your work and personal devices.
7. Failing to Prepare Your Device for Screen Sharing
Prepare your device/s beforehand if you’ll use the screen-sharing feature for a work call. Ideally, you should clear all the folders you’ll navigate. Hide confidential files, personal files, and inappropriate content, among other non-work-related items, for seamless presentations. Nothing’s more embarrassing than having your coworkers see something private.
Professionals who often give presentations should ask for designated work devices; otherwise, you’ll waste time clearing and restoring files.
8. Not Putting Any Thought Into Your Appearance
Stop assuming that virtual meetings are camera-optional. Your business partners or supervisors might occasionally ask you to turn on your camera—you should take care of the way you look. Wash your face, comb your hair, and put on a work-appropriate top. Also, position your camera near a light source so that your face is clear and visible.
9. Carelessly Engaging in Casual Conversation
It’s common for employees to engage in small talk while waiting for other participants to join work calls. Pleasantries break the awkward silence before meetings start. Although you may bring up non-work-related topics a bit, please limit yourself to work-appropriate comments. Don’t get too excited just because your friends are also on the call. Imagine how embarrassing it would be if your business partners, clients, colleagues, and supervisors suddenly joined.
If you’re hosting the call, enable the waiting room so that you can screen participants and give other users a heads-up. verify everyone composes themselves before letting in people of authority. Meanwhile, attendees should pay attention to the sound notifications for new participants.
Host Work Calls Like a Business Professional
With more companies adopting hybrid and remote work, virtual meetings will gradually become the norm. You should stop treating them any less than in-person gatherings. Seemingly minor errors like turning off your camera, looking unkempt, and using a messy background are unprofessional. Your lack of preparation might eventually offend coworkers.
Create a simple routine before hopping on video calls. Make a habit of changing into work clothes, testing your devices, and setting up decent backgrounds.
