We’ve all seen the bloopers where someone is conducting a Zoom meeting and their children or pets run through the background. Or the one guy that forgets to mute his microphone while he’s having a side conversation.
As we continue with what’s becoming known as the “new normal,”
it’s only right that we set some ground rules for conducting and attending an online meeting. Read on for a brief etiquette guide that will help you prepare for your meetings and avoid being the laughing stock of the office.
Choose a Quiet Room
As precious as children may be, it can be distracting if they are running around in your meeting room’s background. Not to mention, it’s not exactly what we would think of when it comes to being professional.
Before conducting or attending a Zoom call, find a room in your home that is nice and quiet. Not only will this provide you the space you need to focus on your meeting, but it’ll also ensure that you don’t miss anything of importance.
Dress Professionally
While we are all taking these online calls from home, it may sound tempting to attend the meeting in your pajamas or casual wear. Working from home is the new normal, but that doesn’t mean that professionalism gets thrown out the window.
Ensure that you dress professionally, at least from the waist up, when conducting your meetings. Getting dressed for work even while home can also help you ignite your brain and get in the mindset you need to be in to get work completed.
Check Your Equipment
There’s nothing worse than hosting a meeting and running into technical issues. Before the meeting is set to start, take the time to check the equipment you plan to host the meeting on.
A free conference call can quickly go downhill if attendees can’t clearly see what you’re showing them, or it can be confusing if they can’t hear you speaking. Run a brief diagnostic test to ensure that everything is ready to go before the meeting kicks off.
Mute Your Microphone
There are various reasons for this tip, but the primary reason is that you don’t risk frustrating others in the meeting. For example, if you’re typing meeting notes on your computer and your microphone is on every noise you make, the other attendees can hear it.
This can make it challenging to focus on what the speaker is saying. And depending on the group call that you’re on, whenever you make a sound, your call box will appear as the main focus of the meeting.
Online Meeting Etiquette: Yes, It Matters
Online meeting etiquette is essential now more than ever as more companies conduct business from home. That’s why you must take the time to review our etiquette guide and prepare yourself for the meeting.
Take the time to find a quiet room before the meeting and mute your microphone when you’ve got nothing to say. After your meeting, if you need a brain break, don’t hesitate to check out one of our other informative blog posts.
