If the responsibility/chore of hosting a virtual work meeting has fallen squarely upon your shoulders, there is no need to cut your internet cable in half just yet. Knowing which common pitfalls to avoid is half the work. Here are some of the main mistakes to steer clear of in your effort to deliver a better virtual company meeting (and potentially relieve yourself of some very real digital stress).
1. Speaking Too Quickly
If your colleagues are using their own devices, it might be difficult to tell how good their audio setup is, and even if they’re not, not everyone has the easiest time taking in important information via a video conference, particularly those who struggle with the tech anyway.
Taking your time when speaking and repeating yourself if needs be is crucial in this regard. You may also want to think about utilizing a CART transcription solution to ensure that nobody is left out because they can’t benefit from the audio.
This is also a good way to keep records of your meetings should you need to revisit them at some point in the future.
2. Not Muting Yourself
While it can be tempting to mutter in disbelief from time to time, your mic could accidentally pick this up and broadcast your dismay to the entire virtual meeting room. Similarly, if you have any background noise going on at your current location, like some cunningly placed roadworks scheduled to start at the same time as your meeting, muting your microphone when you aren’t speaking is probably the best way to go.
3. Bad Lighting
Appearing as a ghostly silhouette may spook your coworkers or distract them from what you have to say. Bad lighting can do this, so it is certainly worth doing a trial run to find out whether or not you can actually be seen.
Be warned, though, a poor-quality camera won’t be able to deliver the best results regardless of your lighting situation. If you need to invest in some better equipment, you could always speak to your company about it, or failing that, there are some great cost-effective options that will probably do the trick. If you will regularly be hosting meetings with employees and clients, it is a worthwhile investment for your company.
4. Letting the Meeting Go on for Too Long
You may enter the meeting thinking that there is no way you will run even one millisecond over schedule, but the virtual conference space can be a difficult arena to navigate. It’s hard to predict what people are going to say and do, and in many cases, their saying and doing might throw you off your stride.
Setting distinct parameters and timeframes should be among your main priorities in this regard, as it can give you a reliable track to follow and help you find your footing should you start to lose it at any point.
5. Worrying
Even if it goes wrong, it isn’t the end of the world quite yet, so don’t worry. Sometimes, just laughing about mistakes with your coworkers can lighten the mood and help immunize yourself to embarrassment.