By Maureen Leif and Elizabeth Leif, Grays Peak Strategies

The Zoom meeting I was hosting was going well, I was sharing my screen with the agenda, people were engaged in lively discussion. I found myself daydreaming about an oat milk latte. No big deal, I took a quick mental break to open my texting screen and text my daughter to bring me one because this call was going to be awhile. While I was texting her I noticed I had missed some other texts from my business colleague, so being easily distracted then I opened up that text string to see what I was missing. Before long I noticed the chat box on the zoom was lighting up. It was a bunch of private messages letting me know I was still sharing my screen. Dang it!

Zoom and all virtual meetings can be great, especially in this time of COVID-19, making us feel connected, reading body language, and encouraging engagement. It’s like any other mechanism for communication, it’s got its own set of social norms, and good polite practices. So take many of my lessons learned and refresh yourself with our list of tips.

Use the video option to encourage engagement in your meetings

If you’re hosting the meeting, set the standard by sharing your video, it will encourage others. Let your teammates and colleagues know expectations if you’d like them to participate by video.

Don’t be a mess, get dressed

This doesn’t mean that everyone needs to be wearing a suit or dress, but you do want to look presentable. Working from home means you may be tempted to show up in your pajamas or yoga pants, but it’ll be good for your psyche and it will increase your confidence if you feel put together and not sloppy even if you’re business on top. It will also show your colleagues on the call that you respect the way you present yourself as part of the company and that you respect this meeting and prepared for it.

Stage your video

This is an important aspect of a successful video call, some people are fortunate enough to have an in-home office to work from, while others may be working from random corners of their house. However, these are tips that will apply to all:

o Create a well-lit area, a good tip is have a desk lamp in front of yourself rather than behind to avoid being back lit. More light is always better.

o Clean your desk off and take inventory of the video space that people will be looking at. Do you have old dishes on your desk or piles of paper? What is on the screen behind me? Is it a wall or is it something distracting? Zoom does have virtual backgrounds that are available for use; however, I would still recommend cleaning the room of distractions and messes before the call, in case of glitches and to improve your mindset! Clear desk = clear mind.

o Make sure that the video is centered around your torso. We were on a call a few weeks ago and the person we were talking to had the camera situated to only show basically his forehead. As you can imagine we got the giggles. Try out the video preview setting and make sure that you have the right positioning for your camera and chair. If you move throughout the call, take a glance at yourself in the video frame and make sure that you are staying within the camera’s view, unless you need to excuse yourself for an emergency.

o Get out of bed. This should be a self-explanatory one, but wherever you work from, especially if you are on a call, move to the kitchen table or even a fold up table and a kitchen chair in the living room. If you work in bed, your body will actually adapt to the idea that the bed is meant for work and will have a harder time resting at the appropriate times, so the benefits are threefold: you will be more productive, present yourself better, and you will still be able to rest well.

Plan around your calls

If you have a day where your meeting falls around your normal lunchtime, plan to eat something before or after, not during. It is appropriate to have a glass of water, coffee or tea, but it crosses a line to pull out the popcorn and start snacking while on the call, it looks unprofessional and can be distracting to everyone else present. Make sure you use the restroom and have the essentials within reach to avoid moving around a lot. Excessive movement can come across as unprepared, nervous, or even agitated, so body language is key.

Timing is everything

Be on time for your calls and take into account the fact they could run longer than expected. It is just as bad as showing up to a meeting late and trying to slip in the back door unnoticed, people notice that as well as you popping into the webinar late. While it is appropriate to end the call at the scheduled time, sometimes calls run over and can’t be ended short, account for this when scheduling multiple calls in a day. It will show that you care about the calls if you show up on time and don’t cut them short. Finally, it is important that you let those you are living with know when and where you will be on your call. This is a courtesy to them as much as it is to you. It avoids them unknowingly being on camera as well as having distractions in your background.

Be aware of the screen share (and other technical settings)

As shared in the beginning of the article, the screen share is both a great tool, and a dangerous tool. Know the settings of the screen share option if you may need to have multiple tabs open but want to selectively share. As with regular conference calls, the mute button is an extremely valuable tool that should be used. Unless you are spoken to directly, asked a question, or presenting, it is safest to leave yourself on mute and participate with body language like a nod of the head or a smile where appropriate. It helps to make the presenter’s sound clearer by making sure the presenter’s audio is the only noise being picked up. It also avoids snafus of colleagues hearing screaming kids, garbage trucks, or other unwanted background noise.

Other Helpful Hints

Test your microphone and sound quality with a friend before the webinar
Test the software prior to the webinar.
Don’t sit with your back to a window
When not talking, hit mute
Do not eat during a webinar!
Utilize the technology- use the chat box, polling, and functionality to keep the meetings engaging
Remove distractions
Do not read your slides- this applies for webinars as well as in-person trainings. Use your slides as a supplement with graphics and pictures.
Show up on time
Have a clear agenda

While this list of etiquette reminders may seem like a lot to think about, after putting it into practice a couple times, it will be second nature. The key to remembering most of it is thinking, “what would I find funny or distracting?” And then eliminating those things. You will thank yourself as you will have avoided some embarrassing moments, and your colleagues will appreciate the time, thought and respect you have put into how you are presenting yourself.

You would think we'd all know this by now - A refresher course on Webinar Etiquette