A commonsense approach to online meetings

The pandemic has changed the rules for everyone. Work-from-home has become the new normal. People who are tech savvy and those working in IT companies have it easy, others struggle with getting online and attend meetings. This is new territory for quite a few. If you Google for “guides to online meetings”, “online meeting etiquette”, “things to do on online meetings”, I’m sure you’ll get thousands of links to articles, publications on the same.

I am by no means an expert at meeting etiquette. A conversation with my brother prompted me to write a simple common-sense article on what should and what shouldn’t be done on online meetings.

Before the meeting

1.     Know the agenda

Meetings are always between two or more people, so respect the other’s time. If you’ve called for a meeting, it’s better to send the agenda well before hand for everyone’s benefit. It avoids wandering off-topic. If you’ve been invited for a meeting, it’s always good to ask for the agenda beforehand. Nothing wrong with that. It shows that you are serious and well-planned.

2.     Be prepared?

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail” - Benjamin Franklin… Yes, it’s an ‘over the top’ quote but you get the idea. You need prepare for the meeting well in advance. The effort you took to prepare for offline meetings, the same or more will be required for you to prepare for online meetings. You may even want to grab a hot cup of coffee. I do. 

3.     To be punctual is not to be on time, but to be five minutes early?

My chemistry teacher from school taught us the meaning of punctuality. It’s always better to be there five minutes early and wait, rather than keep anyone else waiting. It leaves one hell of an impression. It shows how much you value the meeting and its participants.

4.     KYT (Know your tech)?

It’s important to know your way around tech. Few things to keep in mind - 

·       Critical hardware - 

o   Laptop - Check if its charged and ready

o   Audio options - Check if your microphone, headphones/ear buds are all in working condition and tested

o   WIFI - Check if your WIFI bandwidth/signal is good enough for a video call; In most cases there are lapses and bad connectivity

o   Mobile: If you are taking the call on your mobile, ensure you are in a place that has good network/signal?

·       Online Meeting software -

o   Google Meet/ MS Teams/Zoom - The big three for online meetings. 

§  Check your background: All have similar features like background fade/blur which can be used. You can also use your own image or any image from their default gallery

§  Know how to mute/unmute | on/off video

§  Know about sharing your screen?

·       Furniture -

§  Chairs - It’s important to find a comfortable chair to sit on. Believe me, these meetings can go on and on and on… 

§  Desks / Tables - Find a nice spot to put your laptop on. Never sit on the bed and take a meeting. It’s bad for your posture and back!

On the meeting

5.     Video & Mute

Video ON, always: One of the main reasons you switch of your video, is because you want to play ‘Candy Crush’ or browse your feed on Facebook; you know am right. Humans are social by nature. We love meeting people. We love putting faces to names. And believe me, it feels nice when you are talking to people with faces. Put on your best smile :) and be empathic to everyone. However, there are a few exceptions too -?

·       The host hasn’t turned on his video, and you have; you can switch yours off

·       Both have turned on your video and there are network issues, so both turn it off after mutual understanding

Mute On, always: Unless you want to speak, or asked to speak, the MUTE button should always be on, by default. Unnecessary noise is a BIG deterrent to all participants.

6.     Greet and Meet?

Always start your conversation by greeting all participants. It would be great to acknowledge all the participants on the call. A quick Hello, how are you, hope all well, goes a long way.

7.     Pleasantries?

Please go ahead; Yes please; No thank you; Thank you for taking the time out for the call; I’m sorry I didn’t hear that; I’m sorry to interrupt; These three golden magical words should happen in every conversation and not only online.?

8.     Recording the meeting?

A lot of times we want to record the meeting to listen to it later. If you want to record the meeting, ALWAYS TAKE PERMISSIONfrom the participants before recording the meeting or call. Remember, it not the same as “This call will be recorded for training and quality assurance purposes”. 

9.     Listen first, Shoot later?

I get it. We all love to talk. But it’s important to listen first and then shoot the mouth later. Let’s give everyone a chance to say what they must. A lot of times, two/three participants speak at the same time. 

?10.     The conductor?

Like an orchestra, an online meeting should have a lead or a conductor. Remember there is only one conductor on a bus. This person leads the call and directs participants to speak or present as needed, depending on what’s getting discussed. If you want to say something out of turn, “raise your hand” and the conductor will come to you. It is important for the conductor to stick to the agenda.?

11.  No Multitasking

Multitasking is like having too many tabs open in your brain. We can’t even do one job properly, let alone doing many other things when we are on the call. Come on peeps, stop doing things like playing on your mobile, with your mobile, looking at the birds, etc. It’s just downright insensitive and disrespectful.

12.  Acknowledgements?

When the meeting is coming to an end, and when you are just about wrapping things up, acknowledge everyone for being on the call and thank them taking out the time. It shows you value their participation.

After the meeting

13.  Send the minutes of the meeting

Sending the minutes of the meeting is always a good practise because it highlights and recognises the next steps and follow-up action needed by people on the call.

14.  Attend to all the other things that were distracting you while you were on the meeting :))

That’s that.

Everyone understands the many things that happen at home. People. Crying babies. TV. House stuff. It’s all ok. Don’t get too bothered about these things around you. Everyone understands. It is called being human.