Do’s and Dont’s In A Web Conference

Web conferencing is very advantageous.
But beware, just like attending meetings
and presentations in a round table or
in a conference room, there are certain
things you need to do, particular
etiquettes you need to practice and
habits you have to avoid.

Do’s

Plan Ahead

Prepare you presentation beforehand.
Send the necessary materials through
email or put them live online so that
the attendees will be able to read
them before the scheduled meeting
and presentation.

Be Punctual

In normal meetings being on time is very
important. Web conference is no different.
Common sense will tell you that since you
don’t have to travel to go to the location
of the meeting, there is no excuse for
being late. It is also impolite to let
others wait especially if you are the one
who will give the presentation. Besides,
all you have to do is to find an available
internet connection to be at the meeting.

Find a Good Location

Normal meetings are held on places where
there is privacy and little or no
destructions. This should also be the case
for attendees of a web conference; more so
if it is video and audio conference. Go to
an office or a room where there are no
movements (for video conference) and no
noise (for audio conference) on the
background. Movements and noise are very
destructive; avoid them all the time.

Be respectful

The manner of speaking and gestures are
always subject for interpretation in any
meeting. In a web conference where you are
not actually inside on room, speaking and
gestures may be subjected to
misinterpretations; so be careful. Take
note: a web conference is just regular
meeting held online. All rules and
etiquettes of ordinary meetings still
apply.

Dont’s

Avoid too much movement

You are on TV (sort of) and too much
movement is very distracting for others.
Moreover, other attendees might be using
a low bandwidth connection so try to hold
still.

Avoid doing other things whenever you are
in a web conference like eating, drinking
and using your cellphone. Avoid typing,
scanning papers, looking for things inside
the drawer and talking to other people.
Again, all rules and etiquettes of
ordinary meetings still apply in a web
conference.

If you are transmitting good audio,
background noise can be heard on other
lines.

Avoid using wifi signal

Wifi is good if you are out and you need
emergency internet signal. But during a
web conference meeting, try to steer away
from it. Wifi can be very unstable that
can disrupt the meeting. Avoid wifi signals
at the airport, restaurant, park and even
in coffee shops.

Avoid putting attendees on hold

If you are in a meeting, make sure that
your attention is completely there. Putting
attendees on hold is rude. It interrupts
the flow of the meeting and wastes the
time of the participants. If in case you
need to do something extremely important,
excuse yourself instead of putting them
on hold. Go back or reschedule the meeting
if you are ready.

Keep in mind that there are other matters
that are best discussed in person. If time
and economics permit, try to hold meetings
in person but if not, web conferencing is
a great tool and the best tool to get your
message across.