Ensuring a productive video conference, webinar or virtual training.

Everyone is using video conferencing tools, but are they using them effectively?  Video conferencing use will be key to keeping communications active and engaging those that are working from home. To get you started, here are our top 20 tips to using video conferencing effectively.

1. Practice using technology with a friend in another room or place before your first online meeting.
2. Ensure you use a headset or microphone for quality audio.
3. Ensure the lighting is flattering and not behind you (it will make it hard to see your face) and that the background is clean and tidy.
4. If your online meeting is a regular one, consider using the same meeting link so that it is in calendars (not a unique one for each session)
5. Send the online meeting agenda with attendees list via your calendar with a link to online meeting and instructions for joining by phone.
6. Ensure the time zone of the meeting is clear and correct.
7. Add phone numbers of at least two people who are chairing/hosting the meeting so that if someone is having trouble (lost the link, etc.), they can communicate via SMS.
8. Allow more than one person to Co-Host the meeting so that if the host’s internet drops out, everyone can continue.
9. If using Zoom, use the Wait room function so as the host, you can see who is joining, let the group know and then introduce them. This also prevents random people from joining if they got the link from someone else and are not invited.
10. Sign in early and display a holding slide with basic details of expectations, duration, greeting, use of mute etc. (see example below). This helps orientate the audience before the meeting starts.
11. Discuss protocols and get permissions to record or not record the meeting and as people join, remind them if it is being recorded. It is still necessary to send a summary of discussion points and action items even if you record the meeting. Don’t expect someone who didn’t attend to watch a recording for an hour (or however long) to understand what occurred.
12. As the host, use the Mute everyone function when the meeting starts or ask people to mute themselves and Unmute to speak. This reduces background noise of kids, dogs, doorbells, typing etc.
13. Ask someone to volunteer to do a short “meeting evaluation” at the end of the meeting on what went well, what didn’t and what can be improved next time.
14. Remember that the online meetings need the same etiquette as face to face. Welcome people as they join, introduce them and include them in conversations. Do a summary of where things are at and keep moving forward.
15. Use screen sharing to track the progress of the agenda or documents, use the pointer (highlighted colour) to show people where you are at on the agenda.
16. Use chairing and facilitation skills to invite people to speak rather than having awkward situations of people talking over each other or the same people speaking all the time. “I would love to hear from X”. “Now, let’s hear from some people who haven’t yet spoken” … are great ways to invite people to contribute.
17. Ensure that someone is appointed to take minutes and/or action items and if possible, document these during the meeting and screen share at the end. Remember it is the chair/facilitators role to ensure that these action items are clear – who, when, etc. not just free-flowing conversations. Circulate them as soon as the meeting is finished (even as a draft) so that attendees can get on with actions and people who were apologies are in the loop.
18. Remember to thank people for their contribution through the meeting, keep an eye on the time and keep focused on why the meeting is being held.
19. As the facilitator of the video meeting, training or webinar, it ‘s your job to ensure that everyone has a voice (at least eventually).
20. Model the behaviour that you expect of others, and coach others to increase their skills and use.

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About the author: Colleen Condon

Colleen likes to keep things creative in all that she does, often using marshmallows as a source of inspiration.

Everyone knows that ongoing learning is essential for both personal and professional success and yet, for many, this means hours of attending dead boring training or completing’ losing the will to live’ eLearning modules. Colleen’s mission is to end tedious professional development while ensuring targeted outcomes for learners and businesses.

Colleen has honed her skills over the last 20 years across multiple industries and locations. Her previous role saw her overseeing the training and development needs of over 60, 000 employees across 13 countries in the APAC region.  This enabled her to hone skills that celebrated diversity and understanding human commonality through learning, and that in the absence of a common language, flip charts and coloured markers helped her to overcome most challenging situations.

After taking a ‘go away package’, in 2019, Colleen founded her own business, Facilitated Training, harnessing her global learning experiences and sharing them through ready to use learning resources, specialising in leadership, mentoring, guest speaking, creative problem solving, filling the gap of high quality, customisable training resources and tools.