Do you need to brush up on your etiquette? You may be a model employee or colleague in person, but remote meetings and video calls have an entirely different set of rules and protocols that you may not be familiar with. Check out our strategies below to make sure you come across as the professional you are no matter where you’re working from.
Mute Yourself: If you’re not currently speaking, keep your microphone muted. You may not notice the day-to-day sounds in your environment, but a dog barking or noise from an open window can be extremely disruptive and will make it difficult for everyone to hear the speaker. In order to make sure you’re ready to contribute to the meeting without delaying the conversation, familiarize yourself with shortcuts for unmuting yourself as needed (e.g., to unmute yourself on Zoom for Windows, alt+A).
Keep Your Camera On: Unless it is absolutely necessary, don’t turn your camera off or get up from your desk during a meeting. You wouldn’t just stand up and walk out of a meeting in person. Turning your camera off or walking away is distracting to other people in the meeting and conveys that you are not fully invested in the conversation.
Stay Focused: Sitting in front of your computer for a meeting can make checking your email or looking at the internet an easy distraction, but avoid the temptation! Your colleagues will likely be able to tell your focus has shifted and you are no longer mentally present, and you may miss important information while you are distracted.
Keep Your Meeting Private: As remote work has become more common, so has “Zoom Bombing” (strangers dropping into meetings, often with inappropriate or offensive content). Take steps to make sure unwanted guests don’t show up at your meeting. Only distribute meeting links to invitees and don’t post on public forums. For extra security, you can also password protect meetings or enable the waiting room so you can manually admit people as they arrive.
If you are looking to polish your communication skills be sure to pick up a free copy of my e-book “Communicate with Clarity and Confidence!” by subscribing to our newsletter community on our website. For additional information call us at 212-308-7725 or send us an e-mail at jayne@corporatespeechsolutions.com to learn more. I’d be more than happy to answer any questions you might have!
