6 Ways to Make Your
Video Conferencing Highly Effective
Being mindful, organized, following the basic etiquettes and most importantly being human can help you in getting more out of your video conferencing…
Digital workplace became a reality during the current pandemic and is a trend that is here to stay. With new norms being defined for workspace, there is an accelerated demand to find communication tools that would help in effectively bridging the gap between offline workspace to the online workspace.
Communications tools such as video conferencing which have been making inroads in the past few years as an industry is predicted to grow at a CAGR of 9.8% (source: Fortune Business Insights) till 2026. It is quite possible that the industry may even grow at a faster pace.
In fact, video conferencing had gained popularity with businesses even before Covid-19 crisis as it helped them to increase their productivity and efficiency. It reduces the cost and time of business travel and saves money which can be further utilised for company operations. Decision making is faster as one doesn’t have to wait for the executives to be physically present at one location which is a cumbersome task.
Companies are using video conferencing for executing important tasks like training, onboarding of new employees, sales pitches and even for daily operations related interactions.
Using small tips can help you achieve more from the overall experience of video conferencing. (Read our article on 5 Best Video Conferencing Software Tools).
Here are our suggestions to help you get more out of your video
conference:
1. Focus on aesthetics
Very few people give importance to the optics in video conferencing. However, for business meetings, giving some thought to your surroundings or lighting can elevate the entire engagement process.
Sitting in front of a well-lit window or a bright lamp, makes your presence much clear and better. Try sitting with your back to a wall and light falling on the face. Nobody would like to see clutter behind you. So, finding that one good corner that you can use as your space for calls will do the trick.
It is desirable if one can keep a power back up or at least have a backup plan to address power fluctuations, if any. Not having a backup plan can end up wasting time and efforts of everyone present in the call.
2. Follow few etiquettes
As one would for a physical meeting, similarly adhering to the timing is important for video conferencing. Also checking your device before the call is recommended so that there is minimum wastage on these operational issues and one can dive right to the agenda. Of course, having a defined agenda is great to optimise attendees’ time.
Dressing for the occasion is a good idea. May be not as formally dressed as in a face-to-face meeting, but one can avoid sleepwear and pajamas. It is polite to keep yourself on mute if you aren’t speaking. It creates less disturbance for the person who is speaking. (Read our article on Do’s & Don’ts of Video Conferencing)
3. Avoid multitasking while video conferencing
Trying to do too many things with the camera on is disturbing for the speaker as well as the others attending the call. It takes away the attention from what is happening on the screen or what one is talking about. If there is an urgency to attend a call or loo break required, let the team know politely that you have to go away for a while on chat and switching off the camera is advisable.
Taking very long and frequent breaks isn’t good too. It just shows your lack of interest in the call. While drinking water is ok, it’s not ok to hog on a sandwich in the middle of the meeting. If you won’t do something like that in a face-to-face meeting, avoid doing that in the virtual conferencing too.
Resist from fidgeting or moving restlessly as it creates undesirable disturbance. One can keep hand movements to the minimum. Centre yourself in the middle of the screen such that your face to shoulders are visible and the focus is entirely on the meeting.
4. Encourage team discussion
Including every participant in the meeting is important, especially if you are the moderator. Some may not speak at all during the call but keeping the communication open and trying to get maximum participation is the key to keep the team spirit high.
It shows that you acknowledge everyone’s presence and appreciate it. Look at the control panel to see if any member wants to talk and give him/her the opportunity. Though looking good and all the other points are important, being human and talking with everyone as though they are present in front of you helps. Remember to say goodbye to all the participants as you would do in any other face-to-face meeting.
5. Prepare in advance
If one has to share the screen during the meeting, its best to prepare and clear the unwanted sites and emails. You don’t want everyone to look into your mail and passwords.
Keep the presentation ready so that you can quickly switch to that. Stay on track of the meeting timings and do not drift from the topic. It is natural to have queries during presentation but those can be shifted to the end or keep the replies brief.
6. After the video conferencing
As one does in a physical meeting, do follow the standard practice that’s adhered in your organization including sharing minutes of the meeting or a summary and next action on mail. Whether the conference is for existing or new employees or with a business prospect, recollect the processes that one follows in the offline world and replicate digital experiences for the same to help in creating wow employee experience or closing the business deal.
Create as many meeting links as you need and have your team feel like everyone is in the room.
