Welcome back to Indeed's Career Tips.
I'm Drew, here to uncover some important
do's and don'ts for virtual meetings.
And if you stick around to the end of the video,
I'll share some tips for building your confidence
on camera.
All right, let's do it.
Do find a quiet place.
And don't move around or change locations.
It's very distracting.
When working remotely, it can be very
easy to fall into a comfy, cozy home mindset.
You are at home after all, but just remember,
you're still on the clock and you
want to maintain the same level of professionalism
as you would in the office.
You may find this a little difficult
at times, especially when your fur
baby needs a walk or the kids are home sick from school.
But here are a few ways to keep your environment very
professional.
Locate a quiet space.
When identifying a workspace, try
to anticipate noise that could come with each location.
For example, if you sit next to a window, which
faces your neighbor's yard, you may
get distracted by her mowing the lawn every day.
Or if the kids are home from school,
the living room might also be a noisy choice.
Look to find a spot that will help you stay focused
during meetings and allow your coworkers
to hear you loud and clear.
Also, use a headset.
Even if you found a distraction-free work zone,
the sound quality can vary.
Control and maintain clear audio by using
a headset, nothing too pricey.
There are many affordable options out there.
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Do try to engage and don't get distracted.
Engagement is crucial in a remote environment
and can be more challenging to achieve than it
is in an in-person environment.
So here are a few ways that you can connect and participate
in a virtual setting.
This may sound obvious, but turn on your camera.
It can be difficult to feel engaged on a virtual call
with an audience of avatars and blank screens.
Ease the tension and initiate some non-verbal communication
by turning on your camera.
While you're showing your face and physically engaging,
take it one step further and strike up a conversation.
Check in on your coworkers.
You can ask about projects they're working on,
or how their exciting weekend plans turned out.
This initial greeting doesn't have to be a dry, formal, bla,
or strictly work related chat.
Once the host or most attendees are present,
wrap up your conversation to allow the meeting to begin.
Next, maintain eye contact.
Position your camera to sit at eye level,
or slightly above an angle down towards your face.
With this positioning, your face will be the focal point.
You may need to lift your screen or laptop
to get this angle just right.
You'll also find this offers a more flattering perspective
than the view from the laptop looking straight up your nose.
You may even want to engage by using expressive body language,
like waving to say hello or dancing to show
your enthusiasm for good news.
When you're not speaking, use active listening
and facial expressions to show you're
receiving and understanding the information that
is being shared.
The same holds true for body language during the interview
process as well.
Need a refresher?
You can check out this video right up here.
And don't get distracted.
The desire to finish up your last project,
or even your last load of laundry, can be very tempting
but this is not the time to do it.
So try turning off your notifications during meetings
and minimize your browser.
Be as present as you possibly can
and give your coworkers your full attention.
And for more productivity tips from home,
be sure to check out this video right up here.
In a virtual meeting, we also want
to make sure that we do maintain a professional appearance
and we don't forget about lighting.
While it's very likely that you'll
dress more comfortably while you're
sitting at the comfort of your own home,
it's also important to remain visually professional, too.
Let's be sure to find a good balance between your piece
suit and your favorite baggy tank top.
A good rule of thumb is to refer back
to your company's dress code.
Remember, you are a representation of your company,
your department, and your team.
Your attire can greatly impact the way
that your colleagues, leaders, and even your clients
perceive you.
So dress for success, even while at home.
Next up, keep your background neutral.
Turn on your camera to see what it's capturing.
What do you see?
Try organizing what's visible on camera
and eliminating items that should not
be thrown on the camera.
You can let your personality shine through, of course,
but keep the focus on you and not
on your cluttered living room.
There's also a blur filter that you
can use to bring the attention back to you,
this way you can stay as messy as you possibly want and nobody
has to know.
Next up, don't forget about lighting.
The ideal lighting for a virtual meeting
is natural light from a window.
Facing natural light can clearly illuminate
your facial features, making your expressions easier
to read.
It also softens your complexion and helps you look more
like your in-person self.
If you don't have a window, don't worry.
You can use a lamp, but be sure to place it directly
in front of your face to avoid distorting
shadows and hot spots.
Do mute yourself when not speaking,
and don't talk over others.
While attending a virtual meeting,
speakers can be very distracted by the noises that
are coming in from the backgrounds of other attendees.
So as a best practice, always mute yourself
when you're not speaking.
Use the features of your virtual meeting software
to engage without interrupting.
For example, you can use the chat
to ask all the questions you want.
Many chat features allow you to ask questions in the group
or to an individual.
If the speaker says something that triggers a question,
or if you have a link to a document that
supports what the speaker is sharing, drop it in the chat.
That way the speaker can come to a good stopping place
and then they can address your question
or comment at an appropriate time.
You can also use emojis to raise your hand.
There are times when you will have
a question or a comment that doesn't need to be addressed
immediately in that moment.
So if that's the case, you can signal the speaker
by using reaction emojis to raise
your hand without interrupting the presentation.
Then when it's appropriate, unmute
yourself to ask a question.
Verbal questions can be more interactive rather
than the chat box.
Just be sure to keep your peers in mind
and keep your questions or comments brief to give others
the room to speak.
Do come prepared and don't come late.
When working virtually, it's so easy
to get caught up in those back to back to back meetings.
So starting a meeting late or not even being prepared
can create such a domino effect.
And even when you do arrive on time,
be sure to stick to the agenda.
I'm as guilty as the next person about wanting
to chat before a meeting begins, especially
if it's the first time I've been able to interact with someone
in quite a while.
But try to limit the non-work-related conversation
to about five minutes.
Do pay attention when sharing your screen.
Don't share your chat messages.
When you're ready to give your presentation or share your work
with your team, it's very likely that you're going
to have to share your screen.
When you do this, be sure to turn off your notifications
and hide all of your chat messages.
We all chat throughout the day, that's totally fine.
But no one needs to know, I don't know,
what groceries you're bringing home
to your partner for dinner.
Pause your message notifications at the beginning of a meeting,
or consider turning on the Do Not Disturb feature
on the computer.
So that you can limit the information
that isn't relevant to the meeting from being
seen on your computer screen.
Do limit the attendee list and don't schedule a meeting
when you can just simply use slack messages or email.
Zoom fatigue is very real.
People are invited to a lot of meetings.
So limit the invited people who really, really need
to be there.
Do check your tech and don't wait until the last minute.
We all know that technology tends
to act up when we need it most.
So to avoid any unnecessary glitches,
test your equipment before your meeting
and then make sure that you have a backup plan.
Before you join this meeting, just
be sure to test your microphone, your headset, your camera,
and your internet connection.
We also want to check to see that our webcam is active,
and that it's working properly.
Sometimes it takes an extra visual check
to make sure that the camera is actually even on.
I've made that mistake before, too, believe me.
If you plan to use video features like chat,
whiteboards, polls, breakout rooms,
be sure to test these before the meeting as well.
These features are amazing tools for keeping a virtual meeting
interactive, but you don't want to find yourself in a position
where you want to create a breakout room,
but you don't know how.
But most importantly, don't forget to have a backup plan.
Inevitably, there will be times when
no matter how much you've prepared,
you'll experience technical issues.
We can prepare for the inevitable, too.
If you're working on your desktop,
have your laptop set up and sitting nearby
so you can quickly grab it if your computer decides
to, I don't know, crash out of the middle of nowhere.
If you're working on a laptop, you
can use your phone as a third failsafe.
We've covered many important do's and don'ts for virtual
meetings, but there's more to learn about thriving in a new
remote role.
Be sure to check it out right here.
Just because our world is becoming more digital
doesn't mean it has to become less human.
Now, get out there and conquer the remote world one
virtual meeting at a time, and be
sure to check out more resources from us at Indeed.
I'm Drew, and we'll see you next time.
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