Working From Home Video Tips

8 rules for video calls

Do You Work From Home? Here Are 8 Rules For Video Calls

The global fight against the coronavirus means more and more people are working from home. Thanks to technology, people can still stay in touch with family and friends, but it also means we have more online meetings and conferences.

FaceTime, Zoom, Skype, and Teams are just a few of the apps used to communicate during unprecedented times. But despite the fact that we are not in the same room for meetings, you still have to put your best foot forward.

Mint Group Delivery Lead, Amanda Ellis, regularly gives business training on remote working and technologies and advises that people need to approach online meetings professionally to prevent fiascos.

“You are not going to sit in an office meeting and smoke or eat, so don’t do it online. But you don’t have to worry too much about children in the background or pets that are noisy,” says Amanda.

“Many people work from home now and businesses and people are much more willing to make concessions. Businesses need to remember that people’s personal lives are not only infringing on work, but work is also infringing on people’s personal lives,” she adds.

Here are 8 rules to follow with your next video call:

  1. Do not turn your microphone on immediately. When you are not talking, it’s important to mute your microphone as background noise can disturb others. Also, remember to introduce yourself when you join the meeting.
  2. Do not be late. Be punctual. Dial-in a few minutes earlier. Doing so will leave enough time to figure out technical issues that may arise before the meeting starts.
  3. Don’t go online in night clothes. Though you are in the comfort of your home, you must look as professional and be as prepared as you would for a face-to-face business meeting. Therefore, ensure that you dress appropriately.
  4. Make sure you stick to the Agenda of the meeting; people are still working so do not waste their time.
  5. Consider what is in the background of your camera. “I’ve been in a meeting where the background of an attendee reflected a shelf packed full of toilet paper and I couldn’t stop staring at it,” says Amanda. She also suggests you turn off your camera if you are not talking and notes that “many of the remote working products have a feature where you can choose the background blur or another background, which can be used to make your environment look more professional.
  6. Do not talk over others. “If you want to say something, raise your hand and then talk. Say, for example: ‘ Amanda here, I would like to add… ‘ The facilitator of the meeting can also maintain order by saying ‘so and so were saying’.
  7. Do not eat or smoke. “It is not a good idea to smoke or eat during a meeting even though you are in your own home,” warns Amanda.
  8. Make sure your meeting’s sharing functionality on the app is correct. “Most products allow you to decide which attendees can share their screen. This will prevent others from sharing inappropriate content and is especially useful when many people are present on a call,” she says.

Originally published By Huisgenoot 

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