Video Conferencing – Do’s and Don’ts

In the present world, Video Conferencing and Online Meetings are the need of the hour. The spread of the pandemic Covid 19 has increased the demand of Cloud based Online Meeting tools. Here are a few things to keep in mind before you host or attend a video conference.

Be familiar

Before we host or join as participant/attendee it is better to get familiar with the options of the software we are going to use. Also check the camera and microphone and make sure that it is working fine. We need to have good net connection for seamless video. So make sure you have a plan with good net speed. If if are using a mobile make sure it is fully charged because video conferencing apps are usually battery consuming.

If you are hosting the meeting, check all the options in the software – like scheduling, sending invitations, screen sharing, muting and blocking video of participants etc. You must check whether recording option is available and turned on, so that we can keep a record of the meeting for future reference. It is more useful for online classes where the recorded video can be shared to students who couldn’t attend the class.

Appearance

If you are working from home, or attending a seminar from the privacy of your home, make sure that you are properly dressed. Avoid bright colored dresses. Good lighting is needed for others to see your face properly. Natural lighting or light from your front will be the best.Avoid lighting from your back. If there are other persons around, tell them beforehand that you are in a meeting so as to avoid intrusions and embarrassments. If possible, be in a room with doors closed.

Turn on your camera before meeting starts and check how well you appear and your surroundings. Move any unwanted items such as laundry from the view. It’s better to have a neutral background.  Avoid places with background noise. If there’s no option, use headphones with noise cancellation facility. If you are  using a mobile device, it is better to place it on a stand so that the view will be steady.

Starting the Meeting

For any meeting, it’s good to join or start the meeting a little early. If you are the host, you can greet the attendees and the same can be done by the attendees. This ensures that everyone can see and hear each other. In some meetings the host must allow participants to join. So the host must be present early enough or he/she assign role to someone else to admit the participants.

During the Meeting

In online classes and large meetings, it is better to mute participants microphone. We can setup options like not allowing participants to unmute themselves. If you are a participant, mute your microphone when you are not speaking to avoid background noises. If you want to move around, or someone else is coming near you, it’s better to switch off the video.

When we want to talk it’s polite to signal visually by raising a hand or through a chat message. If you are muted, please unmute or the host will unmute for you to talk. That way, we will not interrupt another person’s speech. Speak clearly in a a normal volume and with a slow pace, since sometimes there will be network delay due to server overload of network congestion.

If you are hosting the meeting, it’s better to have some guidelines that is given to participants before the meeting starts. We can include the topic, who is presenting etc., so that others may prepare and get an idea about when to ask questions etc. In online classes the teacher can call students by their name or unmute them individually to have them ask doubts or answer questions. There it is better to have a Q&A session towards the end of the class.

What to note?

You are more visible in an online meeting than in a conventional one. Your mannerisms and activities will be easily noted. In some company meetings, we cannot see all participants. Sometimes your boss is watching you without your knowledge. So be attentive and engaged fully. Try not to do other work or take your eyes off the cam, especially when you are talking. When you are sharing screen, please make sure that no unwanted windows pops up. It’s better to close all other applications expect that is absolutely needed. Otherwise there is chance to share private and confidential data, especially when you are using your personal computer for the meeting.

Between the meeting when you are speaking, if you want to share a screen or you are looking for presentation to show, make sure that you inform the participants. If you are silent, others may think that they have lost connection or your audio is muted. And it’s better to copy all data to be presented in a folder in desktop so that you can avoid delays and accidentally presenting wrong files.

Related Article: Video conferencing, Webinars and Online Meetings