Video Conferencing Etiquettes that We All Shall Agree to Follow
By: Anuradha Wickramarachchi
Tags: Society, Zoom, Working From Home, Technology, Work Life Balance

Video Conferencing Etiquettes that We All Shall Agree to Follow

What to do, how to do and what not to do in video conferencing

This article comes to life after being involved in heavy zoom/google video conferencing for different purposes. This was a subject that we quite usually talk among peers during the times we started working from home via zoom communication. Before a meeting, there shall be several key points to be considered.

When to have the meeting? (day, date and time) What platform to be used? Who will be participating? Mode of communication. Presentation, voice talk, group chat, etc.

These factors must be considered for an effective meeting with the best compliance from all the participants. This is because, given the “working from home” situation there could be parents, elders, pets, etc. Sometimes it is difficult to avoid distractions given the personal circumstances one might be dealing. Therefore, a suitable time that has the lowest disruption in either way should be decided.

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Personal life and work-life no longer deviates a lot. Hence, care must be taken not to have them interfere with one another.

I am a part of a research group of PhD students supervised by a staff member (PhD). We have been having highly effective and engaging zoom meetings during the lockdowns. However, I had the chance of taking part in a multiple of other meetings, presentations, conferences and gatherings over zoom that had something missing when compared to my weekly group meetings.

Following some online research, I figured out a few sources that publish zoom etiquette for students, etc (Uni of Otago, NZ, Uni of Pittsburgh). In this article, I will share a few such etiquettes from my own experience and from online sources summarised.

Joining the Meeting

Share meeting details well before and join on time when you do

Usually meeting links are shared few days/hours before a meeting in an organized group. If not it is important that the organizers do that so the attendees are well aware of times and can prepare well. Also, it is important that attendees join the meeting at least a few minutes (5min) before the meeting starts. It is a huge distraction when another person joins in halfway and the entire grid of attendees videos get reorganized.

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Choose a proper background

When you’re attending a meeting, try to arrange a quiet place with a less distracting background. You can pick a virtual background in order to avoid any clutter that might be unavoidable.

Find proper lighting that would not make you either very dark or bright. Ideally, you should be facing a window/light source with a darker background behind you.

Make sure you rename your account with something that people can call you with. That is definitely not your email address that zoom adds (sometimes). Make sure you put something that everyone can read and understand. Not your full name (eg: my full name is not pronounceable to many! I respect that.).

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Video and Audio

At the time of joining the meeting, you should turn the mic off and video on. This ensures that your presence is acknowledged without any background noise. Make sure to adjust your camera so that you are positioned in the middle.

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Participating in the Meeting

When you are not talking

It is boring and less engaging to be in a zoom call to mention the obvious. This is even more exaggerated when you are off with your video and mic in mute. Hence, you must have your video on with proper eye contact at your screen. This proves you are attentive and that you respect whoever that’s talking.

In a large conference (webinar) you don’t need to have video on. However, in a group call/meeting have your video on as a form of respect and to show that you are engaging. Facial expressions do matter!

In my research group meetings, everybody uses to have their video on (mic off) when they’re not talking. This raises the standard of our engagement since we can question the peers about their understanding or about confusion. However, in some workshops (small groups < 15 people) I saw situations where only about 5 people having the video on. It completely negates the presence of everybody else. There are numerous times that I felt like, “why not leave if they do not want to be present”.

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When you are talking

It is essential to have your video on if you’re talking. If not nobody is going to feel the depth or importance of what you’re talking. Adding to this some facial expressions and hand gestures will definitely upscale your presence.

For example, you can have a look at online courses and how top tutors deliver lessons. It is just same when you are delivering a talk and everybody else is listening. Be active crack a joke!

When you’re having a group conversation

It is not quite straightforward as to how you could jump into a conversation when you’re on zoom. If it is a formal conversation you could always use the “raise hand” feature which is available in almost all the video calling platforms. If not you can literally raise your hand and interrupt. Never raise voice at once, if someone’s talking as it might be distracting or even disrespectful.

In the casual talks, you can always find a voice gap and start talking. Or even start talking with a hand gesture so everybody will prepare to listen to you. Always try to have conversations that everyone has something to do with or can participate. Private conversations are not meant to be in a group chat. Converse in the language you agree to meet in. That shows respect for peers.

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Using Platform Features

Most video conferencing platforms offer a wide range of features that can be used for better conferencing. We can use them to enforce the etiquettes so that the participants will have a high-quality meeting/gathering experience.

Asking Questions

Asking questions in meetings in real life can give rise to situations with heat. Disagreements are common in organizational culture. No difference in virtual meetings. Hence, to avoid the chat becoming a noisy space, the coordinators can use polls and questions to inquire opinions. This helps to have a decent, yet productive arguments. A round robbin approach can be used to express opinions if the need arises. The coordinators can mute audio and video of participants as required to avoid noise.

Sharing Screens

It is not rare to have misunderstandings and confusions in a meeting. In such cases, in a conventional meeting, the presenters will show charts, sheets, etc to support the claims. In a similar manner, the screen share feature can be used. Make sure that you share the correct window so that none of your personal content will come onto the eyes of others.

Breakout Rooms

Some conferencing tools offer “breakout rooms” where quick conversations can be held between few parties away from the rest of attendees. Such features are better in interviews, etc to avoid future confusions and conflicts.

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Security

Meetings can have various confidential information and presentations. Hence, it is important to invite the correct people. Make sure the meetings are not made via public links. Also, make sure the coordinator can “approve” the attendance before the attendees can join.

Meetings can also be “locked” when the starting time is passed. This ensures that the late attendees are kept away. Though it might not be preferred, in serious situations it might be preferred that way. The feature is somehow available.

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Video conferencing is good. Let’s make it great!

I hope you enjoyed reading the article. I believe this will make a difference at your next zoom call with your group. Thanks for reading. :-)