Bad Forms and Courtesies in Video Conferencing

In a normal conference call, you are a disembodied voice coming through a receiver. The other participants hear what you’re saying and pick up on your tone and inflection, but that’s it. For all they know, you could be playing video games in your underwear while pretending to attend the call. Of our five senses the one we use the most, or pay the most attention to is our sense of sight. It is understandable then, how the addition of video can change everything in a teleconference. Good meeting habits can be universal, but what should you be careful to do or not do in the unique environment of the video conference?

Despite the obvious differences, you should always treat a video conference like you would a physical, “face-to-face” meeting, paying special attention to general business courtesies. An important courtesy is that you should always be on time. Since a video conference participant is most often joining from their home or office, punctuality should be easy. However, compared to a physical meeting, in the relatively more relaxed atmosphere it is easy to find that time has slipped by. Another common cause of tardiness is lack of software preparation. Video conferences cannot run without those little programs that tell your computer what to do. They’re free and easy to install, but sometimes can take a few minutes to download. Going online ahead of time to download, install, and setup the program ensures that, when the time comes, you will be ready.

Hopefully it goes without saying that anything you would refrain from doing in a room full of people, you shouldn’t do in front of a camera. For example, don’t pick your nose. You would think that would be too obvious to mention, but sometimes people forget. Don’t fix your hair, put on make-up, pick a scab, or scratch your posterior. When you’re by yourself without a live person in front of you, it can be easy to lose track of the situation.

Social conventions shouldn’t go out the window either when not in the presence of your fellow attendees. It’s easy to forget that looking at the eyes in the videos on your screen won’t create eye contact. In fact, you should try to spend more time looking into your camera than at the screen. Eye contact – even through a computer – will easily create a connection despite geographic and technological barriers.

In a face-to-face meeting you subconsciously suppress urges that would send bad messages. A video conference is no different. Be careful not to yawn or roll your eyes. Even if such movements are small, they can still be noticed. Don’t forget your body language either. Crossed arms are a clear sign that you feel negatively towards what is being discussed. Leaning back or legs propped up on the desk suggest you don’t care. And just like the conference room, it is considered bad form to leave while the group as a whole is being addressed.

A minor point to consider – that can have great impact – is where you are physically when on a video conference. Are there other people or movement in your camera’s view? Is there background noise that could interfere with the audio? Ideally, you should be alone in a quiet room with a neutral background. One final note regarding propriety: desktop sharing. When you invite people to look at a document or application using desktop sharing, make sure the background image on your computer is an appropriate one.

There is etiquette to follow in all of our business communications. If you are ever in doubt of what is correct in a video conference, treat it like a face-to-face meeting and act accordingly.