Just like attending meetings and presentations in a round table or in a conference room, there are certain things you need to do, particular etiquettes you need to practice and habits you have to avoid. If you get this right, web conferencing can do wonders for your business.
What To Do
Plan Your Conference
It shouldn’t even be mentioned as it should be common knowledge, but planing your web conference is key for a smooth presentation. Send any relating documents via email BEFOREHAND to all participants so they may get to know the schedule.
Be Punctual
If you are late for a “real” conference, oh wait… you never would be! This is exactly the same for web conferences, be there early and great everyone as they join. You actually have no reason or excuse to be late to a web conference as there is no travel involved. I won’t go into how rude it is to be late, so turn your computer on, connect your internet, and be on time for your next web conference.
Location Location Location
Go to an office or a room where there are no movements (for video conference) and no noise (for audio conference) on the background. Movements and noise are very destructive; avoid them all the time. A boardroom is usually the place for a “real” meeting because of the privacy they provide for you and the attendees… there is no exception for your web conference.
Show Respect
The manner of speaking and gestures are always subject for interpretation in any meeting. In a web conference where you are not actually inside on room, speaking and gestures may be subjected to misinterpretations; so be careful. Take note: a web conference is just regular meeting held online. All rules and etiquettes of ordinary meetings still apply.
What Not To Do
Other attendees might be using a low bandwidth connection so try to hold still. Avoid too much movement You are on TV (sort of) and too much movement is very distracting for others.
Avoid doing other things whenever you are in a web conference like eating, drinking and using your cellphone. Avoid typing, scanning papers, looking for things inside the drawer and talking to other people. Again, all rules and etiquettes of ordinary meetings still apply in a web conference.
Background noise can be heard on other lines, so be in a quiet space with no distractions.
Wifi can be very unstable that can disrupt the meeting. Avoid wifi signals at the airport, restaurant, park and even in coffee shops. You don’t want to be making a major announcement and then suddenly drop out because you just lost your WIFI connection… your professional image would also be tarnished.
Putting attendees on hold is rude. It interrupts the flow of the meeting and wastes the time of the participants. You can’t put anyone on hold in a “real” meeting, so don’t fall for that trap just because you have the technology to do so. If in case you need to do something extremely important, excuse yourself instead of putting them on hold. Go back or reschedule the meeting if you are ready.
Web conferencing is great, especially for long distance communication. However, you must remember that face to face communication at times is best. In either case, use your best judgement to make the right choice… whether digital or traditional.
Be The First To Comment
Related Post
Please Leave Your Comments Below