Distance not only makes the heart grow fonder but simultaneously makes the utilization of video conferencing broader. Be it for a global business meeting, a union of family members spread across the globe or teenage romance post bedtime, web cameras are indispensable. Video conferencing saves us immense time and money, not to mention the burden of travelling. Video conferencing is an ideal medium for interviews that take place between varying countries and continents. Nevertheless, some users take this facility for granted, failing to adopt the etiquette required for a face to face interaction. We must not forget that despite the distance, the person on the end can still witness your every move. Hence, decent behaviour during video conferencing is essential to maintain a good impression.
Especially when we are video conferencing with a higher authority or a formal entity, we must be on our best behaviour and treat the receiver with equal respect as we would in person. It is important that we assure good video and audio quality transmission for the receiver on the opposite end. Read through this article to acquire a few noteworthy tips that will make your video conferencing experience a great one.
Video Conference Etiquette Tips
- Set up the equipment before the scheduled time so you will have time to test the system and resolve any issues before the meeting.
- Before preparing for a great online meeting, ensure that you have stored the IP address of the site/person you will be calling. Alternatively, you could list the site in a directory.
- Set your camera presets before the call begins to avoid interruptions during the conversation.
- Discourage "double talk" or overlapping dialogues. Let the person finish speaking and talk soon after. Double talk often leads to audio feedback and echo from the audio bridge.
- Don’t wear bright colored outfits or those with small checks and narrow stripes, so that the receiver doesn’t lose focus. Light shades and muted colors are recommended. For formal meetings, stick to formals.
- Close all open windows in the room. Use curtains or blinds to obstruct sunlight. Sunlight can conflict with the interior lighting of your room and the overall visual transmission may be therefore impaired.
- Using natural gestures whilst speaking makes this video conferencing a more realistic experience.
- Adjust your camera with the intention of filling more people rather than inanimate objects like empty chairs and tables.
- Do not shout as you speak. Use acceptable decibel levels. Just because the end person might be a thousand miles away, doesn’t mean you have to shout. You can thank technology for that.
- Cross check with the other person whether you are audible or not.
- Sit or stand in an upright posture and ensure that there is less movement throughout an online meeting.
- Mute the microphone before moving it during a meeting. More importantly, remember to mute it when you are talking to somebody who is physically present or when you cough or sneeze. Keep your phone on silent as it may ring in the middle of an important business conference.
- Audios generally have very minor delays. Hence it is advisable for you to pause shortly before making comments or responding to questions.
- Place the microphone on the table in front of the people in the meeting.
- Be Punctual. Do not procrastinate and keep the other person waiting. This can leave a terrible impression on business partners, seniors and interviewers.
- Use the "mute" button on the remote control when another person is speaking. Deactivate whenever you want or have to speak.
- In big conference meetings, avoid whispering in the background. Good audio equipment can pick up even the softest of sound waves.
- The video switching in a voice-activated multipoint is controlled and modulated by the ‘Multipoint Bridge’. Depending on who is speaking, it switches automatically among differing sites.
- Check beforehand, whether or not your computer possesses applications or software’s such as ‘Microsoft PowerPoint’, ‘Project’, or ‘Word’ which you may need in order to share your documents. Install and test all these applications well beforehand as a slight glitch could cause a disruption of the entire meeting.
