Over the last few weeks especially, video conferencing has played a key part in helping to keep my team connected and motivated as we continually work towards our goals in spite of the recent pandemic. If your team is working from home I strongly recommend taking in turns to host a video call once a day. It’s not only beneficial from a work perspective but its nice to see friendly face during troubled times.
According to the 2019 Impact of Video Conferencing Report conducted by Lifesize, 87% more people are using video conferencing today than they have over the past 2 years and 51% have taken video calls from work in a home office.
A video conference, however, is only beneficial when conducted correctly, especially if you are talking with clients and partners. So, for those new to the process and want to make the most of this technology, follow these tips to ensure your video meeting is productive.
Make Sure Your Wi-Fi is Stable
There’s nothing worse than a meeting being disturbed due to technical issues with Wi-Fi. It can take a long time to recover and can sometimes stop the meeting altogether. Make sure your Wi-Fi is fast and steady, especially if you are hosting a meeting from home.
Select a Good Video Conferencing Provider
Prices vary between different platforms and the type of plan you require; however, they are all accessible, affordable and usually charge a small monthly fee. Here are my top 5 recommendations for video conferencing software:
- Skype
- Zoom
- Cisco Webex Meetings
- Bluejeans
- GoToMeeting
Dress for the Occassion
Dress smart, as you would for a face-to-face meeting, the same rules apply. You are representing yourself and your firm, so professionalism is essential. Take lighting and camera angles into consideration, make sure your camera is at eye level, use natural lighting from the windows or make sure you have lamps around your screen if it is dark outside.
Make a Meeting Agenda
Write at least 3 goals you want to achieve by the end of the video conference and create an agenda accordingly. Send this over to all the participants a day before the meeting so they know why they have been invited to the conference and can plan accordingly. By having a structure and enforcing the main purpose, you will find that your VC meeting is far more productive.
Create the Right Atmosphere
Eliminate background noise whilst the conference is taking place and direct participants on how to mute and unmute their microphones. It’s also essential that participants talk one at a time so whoever is speaking is loud and clear and there is no confusion. At the start of the conference lay down a couple of rules and explain how the meeting is going to run before you get started.
Keep Participants Focused
Break up the meeting into manageable chunks and inject some kind of activity roughly every 15 minutes. This could be asking participants to introduce themselves at the start of the meeting or holding a Q&A about certain topics. If participants are focused throughout, the outcome is likely to be greater.
Share Meeting Notes
After the meeting has ended, create a document or email that contains notes taken from the meeting and send it to all participants, include:
- A list of people in the VC meeting
- When the meeting took place
- Key topics covered in the meeting
- Action points moving forward
- Deadlines if necessary
A rough idea on when another video meeting may take place.
By writing meeting notes you will encourage stakeholders to follow up, continue the momentum and take action on what has been discussed.
For more tips on writing better meeting notes read this blog from Monday.com
“Don’t find the fault, find the remedy”
– Henry Ford
