As we enter the “new world” of communication, face to face meetings have been replaced with web conferencing. The market leader is Zoom with over 300,000,000 people participating in daily calls! What does that mean for you personally and for your business as well?
In this newsletter we will cover some of the basics that are important to a successful web conference call.
Key Tip: Remember to treat a web conference call in the same manner you would treat a face to face melting
I suggest you set up a Zoom call a couple days ahead of time. This gives everyone a chance to prepare for the call. Always have a beginning and ending time for the call.
Key Tip: Be on time!
Absences and tardies are visually apparent. Nothing is worse than joining a call after it starts as everyone will see your picture pop up or worse not see you when someone asks you question or hear you if the call is just audio- Bill Jones just joined the call. You don’t need or want that attention.
Key Tip: Have an Agenda
An agenda becomes more important when you cannot meet face to face as flexibility becomes more limited. The agenda should have a speaker next to a topic so as to minimize too many people feeling the need to lead the discussion. After a topic is discussed you could add a limited time period for a group discussion.
Your visual background becomes important for a web call. Make sure your office is clean relative to what others can see on the call. If your office cannot be cleaned up sufficiently due to unforeseen circumstances,( you just are not good at being neat – I empathize with you😉) you have the option of selecting a virtual background.
Whether you use a separate camera or screen make sure it is at eye level. This makes it appear that when you are looking at the screen, you are looking at each individual participant on the call.
As far as your appearance, wear appropriate clothing. If you are talking to a senior executive and he wears a coat and tie, usually I suggest you do as well. Mirror the others on the call, so you fit in as your picture speaks a thousand words.
Screen sharing is a vital part of web conferencing. If you share your screen make sure there is nothing visible that is personal. Double check before you actually share.
Always have your mute button on when you are not speaking and don’t forget to unmute yourself when you are going to talk. ( I have found that having your mute button on when you are prepared to speak is the most common error people make on Zoom calls).
Part 2 of the new way of communicating with more tips on how to make your Zoom call more successful will be forthcoming in May.
