Frequent video calls are a new standard in the way we work. While the topics we talk about over Zoom, Skype, or Google Meet may be similar to in-person meetings, the way we interact isn’t. Welcoming other attendees, presenting information, and even making eye contact are all different in a video conference versus a physical conference room. If you’ve ever felt awkward on a video call, you aren’t alone—the format takes some getting used to. Focusing on these video conferencing etiquette tips, though, will make you a pro in no time:
It doesn’t hurt to practice, either! I’ve started a video call with myself many times to troubleshoot a new camera setup, check my lighting or internet connection, and familiarize myself with the controls in a new app. And these video call etiquette tips apply no matter what video conferencing software you prefer to use.
1. Start the meeting on time
Punctuality is just as important in a virtual meeting as it is when gathering face-to-face. If you’re hosting a meeting, this is one of the most important video call manners to remember. Make time in your schedule to launch the meeting a few minutes before it is scheduled to begin. You can use this time to:
- Troubleshoot any last-minute technical issues
- Prepare links to documents the group will need to access during the call
- Double-check your meeting and waiting room settings
If you are late to start the meeting, then your attendees may be met with a blank screen and wonder if they missed a schedule change.
2. Only invite the necessary attendees
If you regularly attend business meetings, you’ve probably heard (or made) a joke about how “this meeting could have been an email.” Sometimes, that’s true! Before scheduling a video conference, think carefully about who really needs to be on the call for real-time discussion, and who can get key takeaways later in an email.
The DACI decision-making framework is a great way to help you plan more efficient video conferences. Everyone involved in a project gets assigned a label:
- Driver: the one person who will lead your team to a final decision and keep everyone aligned
- Approver: the person who will sign off on the team’s decision
- Contributors: people who can give insight that is useful for decision-making
- Informed: team members who are impacted by the group’s results, but don’t need to be a part of the decision-making process
The DACI framework can help you decide who needs to be in a meeting (drivers, approvers, some contributors) and who can receive updates (informed team members).
Another benefit of only inviting the necessary attendees is that it can help to give meetings a more personable feel. Everyone can interact and get to know each other better.
3. Introduce everyone in the meeting at the start
Getting on a video call with people you don’t know can be a nerve-wracking experience. If you’re hosting a call, take the time to introduce:
- Yourself
- Any special guests or presenters
- Everyone else in attendance
While you may not need to do this for repeat calls with one small team, it’s a good idea to do so whenever there’s a mix of new and familiar faces. If the number of attendees on the call is simply too high to introduce everyone, make sure to at least introduce yourself and key speakers.
4. Dress appropriately for the video meeting
When it comes to video conference dress codes, think about what you’d do in person. Is this a typical work meeting or a casual team-building check-in? While it may be tempting to call in wearing your PJs while working from home, it’s always safer to dress up rather than down. It’s a good idea to:
- Dress in the same way that you would for a face-to-face meeting.
- Get dressed and prepared for your remote video call in the morning, rather than waiting until right before the meeting to change.
- Dress in work-appropriate attire from head to toe. While you’ll only be visible from the waist up most of the time, you never know when you may have to stand up or shift in a way that makes you more visible to the other people on the call.
5. Let everyone know if the video meeting will be recorded for later use
Recording meetings are useful for several reasons, including sharing updates with team members who were not able to make the live call. When you plan to record a meeting, it’s considered best practice to:
- Let everyone know at the beginning of the call that you will be recording
- Announce when you initiate recording
- Restrict recording to meeting hosts
If you have your meeting room set up to automatically record, let attendees know about this fact in your initial invite. You can then remind them again once everyone is on the call.
You can also use a program like Otter to automatically transcribe your meeting and share the transcript afterward.
6. Discuss the goals and objectives of the meetings
Before launching into the meeting, bring everyone up to speed on what your goals and objectives are for the call. This can give everyone a chance to ask any initial questions and make sure they are on the same page. It may be useful to:
- Create a meeting agenda in a shared document
- Put a link to the document in the video call’s chat function so everyone can follow along
- Re-introduce each agenda item as you come to it during the meeting
7. Avoid background noises while speaking
Before you start a call, it’s important to check your surroundings for unwanted background noise and possible interruptions. If there’s too much noise in the background, it may be hard for your colleagues to understand what you are saying. If at all possible, try to do one or more of the following:
- Call from a room with a door that shuts
- Remind your family members or roommates that you’ll be on a call and need to minimize distractions
- If possible, don’t schedule calls on days when you know there will be construction or road work nearby. If that’s unavoidable, try to mute yourself when you can.
- Use headphones with a microphone to help isolate your voice
8. Prep your camera frame
The default position of your smartphone or computer camera isn’t always the best one. Taking some time to prep your camera frame before your call can help you have a polished and professional presence. It’s a good idea to:
- Stabilize your device on a flat surface
- Use a riser to bring your device or webcam up to eye level, if necessary
- If calling from a phone or tablet, secure it with a stationary holder or tripod
- Position yourself in the center of the frame
- Remove visual clutter from your surroundings
9. Blur your background
You can also opt to blur or replace the background on video calls. Skype, Zoom, and Google Meet can all create a virtual background where your face and body stay clear, but the area behind you is obscured. Each program is good at keeping the background in place as you move, though there may be occasional flickering. You may want to do this if:
- There are other people in the background of your call
- You prefer to keep your surroundings private
- You find that your natural surroundings may be a bit distracting over a video feed
- You like how it looks!
10. Make sure you have proper video lighting
Lighting is very important on a video call. If there’s too little light, or the light source is behind you, you may be in shadow. If there’s too much light, or the lights point toward the camera, it can be hard for others to watch. You don’t need to buy any special lighting like a ring light, though. You can use the lights and windows in your space. Aim to:
- Position the main source of lighting in front of or above you
- Utilize diffused, rather than direct, light—think lampshade versus bare lightbulb or a sheer window curtain instead of direct sun.
- Use artificial lighting that mimics natural light
11. Test your tech before the call
Occasional technical problems are an inevitable part of the modern workplace. This is especially true when working remotely. Problems with technology can quickly delay or derail a meeting, so you’ll want to make sure your video conferencing technology is working properly before you sign into a meeting. It’s a good idea to do the following before every video call:
- Check your software
- Test mic quality
- Check Wi-Fi speed and stability
- Confirm your camera is working
- Run a video and audio quality test
12. Mute your mic when not speaking
It’s considered common courtesy to press the mute button when you aren’t speaking on a video conference call. Microphones can still pick up minor background noises even when you think you’re being silent. Your neighbor could suddenly decide to start mowing their lawn or someone in your house might ask you a question without realizing you’re on a call. This kind of background noise can be distracting to other attendees and make it difficult to hear whoever is speaking. You can:
- Set up your video calling software of choice to automatically set you to mute when a new meeting starts (and if hosting, set up the meeting link so it sets all participants to mute.)
- Familiarize yourself with any mouse or keyboard shortcuts to quickly unmute yourself during a call
- Use a physical microphone or mute button with a switch you can toggle when it’s your turn to talk
13. Look into the camera when speaking
Making eye contact is an important part of how we communicate. This is just as true for video chats as it is for in-person communication. It may feel hard to make eye contact on video calls, but these tactics can help:
- Look directly into the camera lens while you’re speaking, not at the screen
- Set your video calling program to display the main speaker prominently in a larger box than other attendees
14. Share a specific window when presenting
Screen Share is a huge help when it comes to collaborating online during remote work. This is especially true when walking people through a spreadsheet or large multi-page document.
On the flip side, it is possible to share too much. Not only could it be embarrassing to reveal your social media tabs and email conversations during a screen share, but it’s also a potential security liability. You could accidentally expose sensitive information to a client or another third party. To be a screen-sharing pro, remember to:
- Confirm with meeting participants that they can see your screen
- Only share the tab, window, or monitor that is relevant to the conversation
- Move at a slightly slower pace and be aware of the potential for lag on your colleagues’ screens
- Turn off all notifications and close out other apps that may send notifications onto your screen during the call
15. Remember to exit screen share
While screen sharing helps to mimic in-person presentations, it can be distracting if enabled for too long. To practice good video conference etiquette, you can:
- Pause screen sharing if there becomes a need for extended discussion during a presentation
- Stop sharing your screen as soon as you finish a presentation—you can always restart it.
16. Give 100% of your attention to the video conference
When you are in the middle of a busy workday, it can be tempting to try to do other work during a video call. Unfortunately, we humans aren’t quite as good at multitasking as we think. (According to the Cleveland Clinic, only 2.5% of people are able to multitask.) Attempting to multitask can lead to stress and reduced focus. It can also be very distracting to your fellow attendees. It’s considered best practice to:
- Close out other work windows and apps during a call
- If using more than one monitor, position the video call and your camera directly in front of you
- Mute notifications on your computer and phone
17. Know when using the chat function
A chat function is a useful tool when used appropriately and sparingly. If you’re engaged in text chat continuously, though, it can be distracting to yourself and others. Try to keep your chat function use limited to:
- Sharing links to documents that everyone needs to see, like the meeting agenda
- Responding to questions asked by the presenter
- Discussion of professional topics—the video call host may be able to see (and save) everything said in the chat
18. Try not to talk over each other
It’s very common to accidentally speak at the same time as other participants on a video call. This is due to several factors including differences in internet speeds and difficulty ascertaining some of the same non-verbal cues we might pick up on in person. To reduce the likelihood of accidentally talking over someone else, try the following:
- Allow a small pause after you think someone has finished speaking
- Signal to the other participants when you would like to speak, either by physically raising your hand or using the built-in “raise hand” button in Zoom
- When hosting a meeting, you can ask for attendees to signal in chat when they have an answer to a question, and then call on them to speak
If you do accidentally speak over someone, simply pause, regroup, and indicate who should proceed. Part of proper etiquette for video conference calls involves being able to work through issues when they arise.
19. Thank everyone for attending the meeting
When you’re ready to wrap the meeting up, thank everyone for attending just as you would during an in-person meetup. It may also be helpful to:
- Allow for time to answer any closing questions
- Tell meeting participants where they can look for copies of meeting notes and recordings
- Remind everyone when your next meeting will be
Improving your video conferencing etiquette
Ultimately, the etiquette of video conferencing isn’t too far off from that of conducting an in-person meeting. Getting used to the ins and outs of video conferencing is a skill you can acquire. Always remember to give yourself plenty of time to become familiar with new video calling apps, troubleshoot, and perfect your setup so that you feel comfortable.
And no matter what, know that it’s okay if your video conference doesn’t go as planned. Sometimes, there will be unavoidable background noise, or you simply can’t set up a designated workspace. A family member or a pet may need your help during a call. Or, you might just have “Zoom fatigue” and need to turn your camera off for a while and take care of yourself. All of these things are normal and understandable.
When you would like to incorporate a video call into your workflow, Upwork makes it easy. You can schedule and start a Zoom call directly from Upwork Messages—no calendar invites or email chains are required. You can also start an audio call, too, without using a webcam. Log in or sign up for Upwork to give it a try as part of your workday.
