Tips and Etiquette for Virtual Meetings
Over the last few months, we’ve all likely spent a considerable amount of time on Zoom calls. If you’re at all like me, you’ve quickly realized that virtual meetings and events quickly separate attendees who know how to be engaging and prepared participants from those who, well, very much aren’t.
But don’t worry! You don’t have to be a modern-day Cicero to look like an excellent speaker and a total professional on-screen. We gathered up some tips to look better, speak more engagingly, and have more productive meetings and events in the age of virtual gatherings.
Looks Aren’t Everything — But They Make a Big Difference
Do yourself a favor by making sure you’re dressed for the occasion — the more professional the meeting, the nicer you should dress (at least from the waist up!). According to the American Psychological Association, your manner of dress can have a profound impact on your mental state. Evidence suggests that dressing appropriately for the occasion is very likely to put you in a more professional, confident state of mind to be on camera and participate in the event.
But dressing for the occasion doesn’t mean much if you’re joining from the shadows. Try to sit in an area with ample natural lighting to look your best. You should also make sure your web camera is at least close to eye-level. No one wants to look up your nose during meetings because — ick.
If you’re worried about people seeing behind you into your home office and judging you on your room decor, Zoom gives users the ability to use a virtual background to eliminate people from seeing behind you. It’s great! Don’t have a virtual background? Send us an email for your very own MSAE-branded background created by Aaron Wolowiec — it’s slick!
Pro Tip: When you’re not talking, mute your microphone. The rest of your meeting attendees will thank you.
Turn Up Your Personality to Eleven
I know it’s a big ask, particularly for our introverted friends, but it’s important to remember that in a virtual meeting, you’re missing out on a lot of social cues that you’d normally pick up on in person. Body language, tonal changes in your voice, and even hand gestures are muted or toned-down on-screen. To make up for this change, it’s crucial to speak and move with more enthusiasm. Get your hands involved. Smile a little bigger to acknowledge others when they’re speaking. You might feel like a crazy person, but other meeting attendees will just think you’re engaged in the conversation and happy to be there.
While it’s great to look good and be the life of the Zoom meeting, make sure it’s not all about you. Other attendees can totally tell when you’re checking yourself on video calls. If you can’t seem to take your eyes off yourself, Zoom, Slack, and other platforms allow users to “Hide Self View” in the video settings to remove the temptation of checking yourself out while other attendees are trying to get and retain your attention.
A few final tips from some of our friends on Twitter and LinkedIn:
- Don’t muti-task! Checking your phone or reading emails while on the call is distracting to others
- Please turn off your notifications during calls. Dings from new emails, Slack, Teams, and other apps can be heard by other attendees and get really old, really quick
- Make sure you have the application for the call (Zoom, BlueJeans, Free Conference Call, etc.) downloaded before the meeting. You don’t want to be late because you’re installing the video conferencing application at the very last minute
So, what did we miss? Let us know in the comments if you have any other tips for better virtual meetings!
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