9 Tips On Conducting Effective Video Conferencing In 2023

With more and more people recognizing the importance of staying connected, video conferencing is taking over audio. 

Conducting effective video conference meetings is a crucial skill for all leaders, freelancers, and employees.

Follow our 9 tips or share them with your team to bring the best out of your video conferencing calls. 

What To Keep In Mind When Conducting Video Conferencing In 2022?

Video conferencing is a significant skill to increase your competitiveness and efficiency.

Focusing on an effective video conferencing setup can lower misunderstandings and hiccups, which are present basically in all processes. In turn, you’ll spend less time on meetings and emails, or just a generally productive and effortless workplace environment.

There are a few things you should keep in mind when choosing to benefit from effective video conferencing.

Make It Time Efficient 

Don’t spend a lot of time and resources when implementing effective video conferencing. Long gone are the days of processes and software that took days to implement. You’re not the only one who’ll be using it, therefore, it should be as time-effective and simple as possible. But there are more things that your new video conferencing tool should include.

Choose The Right Software 

You need to find simple but reliable software that everyone will be able to use, from different devices. Don’t risk frustrating your employees with another mundane and boring training. Make sure the company offering you the video conferencing software is customer-focused and ready to help in most hours of the day. This might save you a lot of time and trouble in the long run.

Effective Scheduling

What is effective video conferencing without an effective approach to scheduling? One way to maximize efficiency is with an online scheduling tool. Using a customizable solution like Bookafy can get you to the next level. Multi-user appointments, group event scheduling, or skill-based scheduling are only a few of the powerful features such an effective scheduling software should offer. 

9 tips on conducting effective video conferencing

So how do you make your video conferences more effective and time-efficient? 

1. Keep Time Zones In Mind

Nowadays, when the majority of people work remotely from all over the world, it’s easy to accidentally schedule meetings for someone’s nighttime. Know where your team works from  and consider their time zone when scheduling a video call. Use a timezone converter to check when your workdays overlap and ask them if it suits them to make sure you will both attend at the same time.

2. Prepare Your Agenda And Send It Before The Meeting

Preparing for a meeting in advance helps you stay on point, budget your time, and answer every important question. Your colleagues will take a big sigh of relief and thank you for being considerate of their time. Include the agenda in the video conferencing invitation or via email, so everyone can prepare, and even decide whether they need to attend the meeting or not.

3. Know Your Video Conferencing Tools

Choose reliable and working software that you can count on. There are many affordable options out there to serve all your needs. Make good use of the software completely and get familiar with all of its features and possibilities.

4. Test Your Equipment In Advance

Make sure that everything is set up and working as expected. You don’t want to waste everyone’s time with continuous reconnecting and looking for buttons to share your screen. Run a test call with a few people in your team to make sure that everything is working as expected.

This includes your internet connection. Have a backup connection, or have a mobile hotspot. A good quality internet connection makes a huge difference. 

5. Be On Time, Always

Respect other people’s time by starting the meeting on time. Make it a rule to never wait more than 2-3 minutes at the beginning of the meeting for those who are late without a reason, and stick to your agenda throughout the meeting. You can read your meeting notes aloud and time your words with a stopwatch. If you say what you need to say in 4 minutes, count it as 5 for the actual meeting. 

Always calculate with extra questions too. As the saying goes: Time is money, so the longer you’re stealing your team away from actual work, the less productive they can be for that day. 

6. Be Mindful Of Your Clothing And Background

Even when working from home, you’re still at work and your coworkers, partners or customers  can still see you on camera. Make sure you show that you care and put some extra effort into it. Not only is it unprofessional, but funny clothing can cause interruptions. You don’t want your colleagues to chat 10 minutes about the latest Marvel movie when seeing your extravagant Captain America hoodie. 

Ask your family or flatmates to not disturb you, and be mindful of what you put in your background. A messy bed is not a good option, and not exactly professional either. Your surroundings can complete your image, but if you can’t pick a good one, at least blur your background.

7. Introduce Yourself And Add Some Ice Breakers

This is an intuitive thing to do when conducting a video conferencing call. All eyes are on you, now it’s the time to tune in a bit and break some ice. Try to be relaxed, positive and energetic while introducing yourself along with the main goal of this meeting. Feel free to add some informal questions about their day or ideas. 

8. Pay Close Attention And Ask Questions

You scheduled this meeting to get the attention of attendees, but you also need to give your attention to them. Be open-minded and a good listener. Ask when you need some further details, or let everyone know they are heard. It’s important to give them time and space to express their ideas and opinions.

According to growth marketing consultant Zach Grove, there’s an art to knowing when to ask pointed questions, and when to hold off. From Zach: “If a meeting becomes tense, I sometimes like to debrief afterward on a separate call with certain team members, as opposed to devoting an entire meeting to one issue. Sometimes team members need to vent or express their ideas 1:1, and that’s totally fine.”

9. Switch Off Your Microphone And Look Into The Camera

Switching your camera is kind of a violation of video conferencing etiquette. Some people may feel you don’t care about them or the meeting, or that you just went away. If you really must do so, excuse yourself vocally or in the chat. 

Don’t forget that you’re being watched like at a regular meeting. Look into the camera, and at  the faces of other attendees on the screen. Now it’s not the time to scroll through your favorite social media app or clean your desk. Focus – you will retain more.

Conclusion

An open and more flexible approach to online technology can only serve you well and make you more competitive. It will help you simplify all processes and build one of the main pillars of your company, which is communication.

After choosing a reliable video conferencing tool it’s now time to put into practice everything you’ve learned. By utilizing all our tips and sharing them with others, your meetings will be effective and more fun. Focus on what’s important and don’t lose any more time on unprepared and sluggish video conferencing calls.