Video conferencing – advice

By now, we are all becoming proficient with conference calls. A few lessons have been learned and I have tried to distil these down to a few key points.  

Check before the call:

  • Am I still in my PJs?  
  • Do I even wear PJs? (more important than point above). 
  • Am I reasonably shaved? (more applicable to male type people). 
  • Am I wearing a bra? (more applicable to female type people). 
  • If I need to stand up during the meeting, am I dressed all the way down? 
  • Are there excessive numbers of empty wine bottles in the background? 
  • If above is the case, do I know how to blur the background in Teams? 

Call etiquette:

  • Only pick your nose if your video is turned off. 
  • Don’t pick anyone else’s nose, even if your video is turned off. 
  • At the end of the meeting the correct sign off is “Bye, bye, bye, Ok… Is anyone still there?, Ok, bye, speak soon, bye”, click the off button. 
  • If the meeting is very long, turn your microphone on every hour or so just to make sure people know you are listening, and use one of the following phrases “Mmm”, “Yes”, “No”, “Makes sense”, “I want to die”. 
  • Don’t blur your background, it upsets the hidden stalker within us.