Secrets to a Successful Virtual Meeting: 8 Best Practices

With more than a year of remote working under our belts, I’m still amazed how often I see bad habits during virtual meetings. I struggled with the decision to write this post, as so much has been written about proper Zoom meeting etiquette. After reading a handful of articles however, I realized many articles covered meeting best practices that apply to any format or location. I felt validated to share my thoughts on a few best practices I find lacking in today’s virtual meetings.

Lighting

Perhaps the most common issue I see (or don’t see) in group meetings, is poorly lit subjects. Often, I see professionals sitting in front of windows, which makes them very dark by contrast and nearly impossible to read facial expressions. If you can’t set your virtual office up where you are facing windows, at least make sure you adequately light your face. Virtual backgrounds work best with single color walls and minimize judgement by other meeting attendees about your socio-economic status. I’m assuming you clean your camera lens regularly and have a decent resolution, of course. If you don’t, decent HD cameras are available on Amazon for $25.

Audio

The area too many participants cut corners on is audio. While many professionals rely on default earbuds that came from their smart phones, I personally do not like using Bluetooth headsets, as the batteries can die, or connectivity can be spotty. I like hard-wired old-school earbuds, as they are affordable ($25-50), compact and bulletproof. Larger gaming headsets can look and feel cumbersome, and the audio isn’t significantly better. If you want to achieve baller status with audio, invest $50-100 in a condenser microphone, typically associated with podcasting but approachable to everyone.

Framing

Another common issue I see, which can be more difficult to address, is making sure you are framed properly. Some attendees may be too far away to see facial features while others are uncomfortably close to their cameras. More troubling, is the “nose hair” shot, most often created by laptops perched on laps. Make sure your camera is as close to eye level as possible to avoid this potentially embarrassing “nosy” angle.

Clothing

I shouldn’t have to say this, but please dress appropriately for your audience. It’s easy to get too comfortable in sweats and a bathrobe, but remember you’re still working for a living. If your audience is more casual, adjust accordingly, but I always aim to dress one step above the other parties on my video conference. As long as you’re not Toobin’ it, dress formally above the waste (collared shirt for men for example) yet maintain the optional comfort of your sweats and slippers off-camera.

Posture

More subtle but still important, proper posture projects confidence, health and gravitas. Sit with your feet firmly on the ground to give yourself an edge by sitting upright, with shoulders back, while looking directly into the camera. Those that slouch, rest their face in their hands or otherwise lean to the side may appear weak, disconnected or lazy. One trick I use is to move around a few minutes before a meeting to get the blood flowing so it’s easier to sit up straight and look professional.

Eye Contact

Perhaps the least-mentioned best practice in my research and experience: making eye contact with the camera. Eye contact is one of the most important meeting success factors we’ve lost during the pandemic, due to a lack of face-to-face contact. Instead, we tend to default to looking at the screen (specifically avatar of the person with whom we’re talking directly), instead of at the camera itself. While that is natural and can be helpful to gauge response, I try to move between the camera lens and screen images regularly to maximize engagement, connectivity and polish.

Gesticulate

This is my most unique recommendation, one I haven’t seen or heard from other experts. Virtual backgrounds can make gestures wonky (revealing the true background or masking your hand movements due to technology limitations). I recommend turning off virtual backgrounds or using a green screen to ensure your gestures are seen clearly. The ability to gesture during meetings can dramatically improve concept comprehension, increase attention and generally make the meeting more interesting.

Master Fundamentals

I would be remiss if I don’t acknowledge the importance of proper meeting planning, management and follow-up. First of all, master the mute button. Know the keyboard short cut for each platform to mute quickly and set your default to join calls on mute and in dark mode (video off) so you aren’t seen in awkward situations before you’re completely ready. Also minimize distractions (other apps, screens or notifications) out of respect to those on your conference. Create and share an agenda, manage the participants against the agenda and make sure to end on time or early. Lastly, send a follow-up recap with next steps to maximize the investment in everyone’s time.

I’ve covered best practices I’ve found woefully lacking in virtual meetings, but I do see value in improving overall meeting planning and performance outlined in these two articles:

·       Your Guide to Virtual Events

·       22 Online Meeting Etiquette Rules That Must Be Followed For the Sake of Everyone

·       The ultimate guide to remote meetings

Feel free to add your best practices in the comments below.