Tips to Have an Effective Video Conference
Video conferencing is a common tool these days for companies. It allows employees in different areas to connect without having to meet in one area. It also allows business pitches to happen without seeing the potential investors. Technology has evolved drastically in a way that it is now convenient to conduct a meeting any time.
If you intend to use this tool to meet with the people in your team, these are some tips to ensure that you will have a productive conversation.
Ensure a stable internet connection
It is usually a common issue among people who conduct video conference. Sometimes, the videos end up freezing or the connection is suddenly lost. It delays the meeting. It might even result to the cancelation of the conference. Therefore, before your scheduled meeting, you need to check if the internet connection is okay. Ask the people who are involved in the conference to also do the same.
Find the right software
Although you can use common applications for video conferencing, they are not necessarily meant to handle formal company meetings. Find software that will make it easy for you to conduct the video conference. They are designed to ensure smooth video collaboration and even have other features like video recording or transcription writing which are useful.
Dress appropriately
Even if you are not meeting these people in person, you still need to assume that you are physically present with them. Therefore, you need to dress like you are actually in the same room as everyone else. It also maintains a level of formality that you want to have during official meetings.
Set an agenda before the conference
Like in any other regular meeting, you need to make sure that everyone knows what will happen. It is easy for you to have a smooth-sailing discussion if everyone has an idea of the topic and they already prepared what they will say.
Set rules
You need to inform everyone in the meeting to avoid using their phones to prevent network distractions. You also need to have a policy on determining who will speak first and how to respond to some ideas. Otherwise, you will end up talking on top of each other. You also need to assign someone to serve as a moderator during the conference.
Be considerate of the differences in time zone
When the meeting involves people in different time zones, you need to find the perfect time. Otherwise, you will be talking to people who are not yet in their proper state of mind because it is already late at night where they are. You can inform everyone ahead of time when you intend to start the conference so they can prepare. However, if you are pitching to a foreign investor, you let them decide the time and adjust.
Video conferencing could be quite challenging, but it is a more practical way to meet with everyone. It allows you to save time and money because you do not need to organize a meeting where everyone can be in the same place. If you do it right, it can be an effective tool to boost your business.
Photo Attribution:
1st and featured image from http://www.seas.no/images/NEC_InfinityBoard_VideoConferencing_med.jpg
2nd image from https://www.lifesize.com/en/video-conferencing-app
