Whether you’re meeting with an internal team, an external vendor, or a client, doing it remotely can allow things to run smoothly; if you follow the right steps, that is. Sticking to some common best practices can be the difference between a good and poor remote meeting. While you may think there’s no difference between in-person and remote, think again. When you run a remote meeting, you have to make smart use of video and internet technology; in addition, you have to interact a little differently with the people on the other end of the screen or phone.
Make Consistent Eye Contact
In person, you can look at someone while also “not looking at them.” Most humans don’t look each other in the eye 100% of the time. In many cases, we glance away, and then meet eyes again. With video conferencing, it’s pretty obvious when one person breaks eye contact; therefore, while it might feel a bit uncomfortable at first, it’s best to always be looking at the people who are present on the screen.
If You’re Attending From Home, Use a Headset
If you’re attending the meeting from your home or office, then consider connecting with a headset. Headsets make it much easier to hear and block out surrounding noise. In addition, make sure that you keep the door in your room closed, and advise any family members, friends, or spouses in your home that you’re attending this video conference. Doing so will keep them from entering the meeting space.
One Person Should Have the Floor at a Time
It’s common for people to try and talk over someone else when they have something to say. While this happens in all meetings, it’s more apparent during video sessions. To be as productive as possible, 1 person can be the meeting administrator (where they would point to the person who should be speaking), or you can outline a circle system, where each person in the room gets designated time to speak.
To ensure that nothing gets missed in your remote meeting, it’s beneficial to hire a court reporter. If you’re interested, we at A Plus Reporting can help you!
