Virtual Meeting Etiquette

With the surge to virtual meetings, we thought it might be helpful to share some virtual meeting etiquette guidelines.

1. Mute your microphone or phone when you are not talking. When you are not speaking in the meeting, mute your microphone. Your mic will pick up even small sounds like rustling of papers, mouse clicks, typing on your keyboard and any ambient noise. Find a quiet place to participate from. Let family members know you will be on a call and to give you some quiet time.

Google Hangouts: At the bottom center of the Google Hangout’s window you will see three icons. The left most mutes your microphone, the center hangs up (leaves) the meeting and the third turns off your video.

If you are joining by cellphone, use the mute button on your smart phone. 

If joining on the phone from home (landline), press *6 to mute and *6 to unmute.

2. Use a headset if you have one. While you can sometimes get away with using your computer's built-in microphone and speakers, it’s usually much better to use a headset so you get clear audio. You might use your iPhone earbuds or a bluetooth headset. If you don’t have an external mic on your laptop, just lean forward and speak a little louder.

3. Wait for someone to finish talking before you start. Make sure you pause after asking a question. If you’re on video, you may want to raise your hand when asking a question. Most importantly, make sure that you speak clearly and concisely. Enunciating your words gets around any muffled microphones or poor-sounding speakers.

4. Join a few minutes early. I’m sure you know how disruptive it can be when someone walks in late to an in-person meeting. Well, it’s even more disruptive over a video conference because the latecomer will inevitably have to check audio, fiddle with some settings, say hello and generally cause a ruckus as they join—don’t be that person. Get prepared before the meeting starts so you can be as productive as possible.

5. Make your background appropriate for a video meeting (if using video). Find a quiet space that is appears some sort of professional and is free of distractions.

6. Get dressed. The beauty about working from home is that you don’t always have to wear formal, professional attire. But, if you’re on video, you don’t wear to be wearing pajamas and a serious case of bed head. Be professional and courteous by dressing appropriately and combing your hair. As an added perk you’ll be more focused and productive because you’ve dressed for success.

7. Make sure your remote device is fully charged. You don’t want to leave the meeting midway through because your remote device died.

8. Let Google Hangouts take attendance for you. The top right side of the Google Hangouts window can show you all the participants. Grab a screen shot of this if you need to take attendance. You will need folks that dial in on their phone to introduce themselves as the Hangouts might just say Caller 3: 210-555-5555. If you are on a dial in, say who it is when you make a comment. Also any family members sharing a video or phone call will need to identify themselves.