Briefly
- Organize
- Turn on the camera
- Share the screen and yourself
- Find a good background
- Keep the microphone off
- Don’t forget your facial expressions
- Turn off notifications
- Use a good connection
And tips at the end.
Detailed
Organize
To run a call and meeting effectively, you not only need to choose a time that is accessible to most people, but you also need to make sure that everyone involved understands why we are meeting and what their role is.
This can be done by not just coming up with a title and designating a time on your calendar, but also adding a description of what the call is about and why it’s important.
Each call should have a moderator who makes sure the meeting stays on track, on-topic, and within the time frame. By default, the moderator is the initiator of the meeting.
Turn on the camera
When working with a remote team, it’s important to remember that you’re working with people, not bots that sometimes send emoticons and sometimes an angry dot at the end of a sentence.
In order not to forget who you are working with, that we are all people, one team, it is important not only to hear each other, but also to see each other. Voice gives a lot to understand, but only with a video call there is an opportunity to see the reaction, which gives a better understanding of the interlocutor. Don’t forget to turn on video on calls.
Share the screen and yourself
If at all possible, all participants should be able to see not only what you are showing, but also yourself.
Find a good background
Ideally, a simple background with no small details. If everyone is looking at what you have behind your back, what books, toys — it will not help to present your work well. Blurring the background can help in this case, but it usually just looks messy. Also, there should be good lighting so you can be seen perfectly.
Keep the microphone off
The microphone should only be on when you are speaking. Extraneous noise happens to everyone all the time. Even just from the keyboard. And it’s very disturbing.
Don’t forget your facial expressions
Smile and nod as if you were in the same room.
Also try to use a camera that is attached to the screen or embedded in it, so that when you talk, you will look at your listeners, and they look at you. Otherwise, it’s not clear whether you’re doing your own thing behind another display or immersed in the conversation.
Turn off notifications
Well, it’s obvious. Everyone has been screwed more than once.
Use a good connection
Check if the connection speed is fast enough before calling. You can check either by calling someone, or various programs that measure connection speed. If the internet is really bad, it may be worth postponing the call. If not very bad, then you will at least be aware of it and can take into consideration on the call.
You could even try using a separate internet connection just for calls so that housemates, TVs and vacuum cleaners don’t eat up bandwidth.
Tips at the end
- It is important to prepare in advance — make a plan for the discussion, gather all the materials and links to broadcast to the client. In 5–10 minutes, you should call without the client and run through what will be discussed.
- If you plan to show something on the call, it is better to open in advance. Who knows what will happen with services or software during the call. And just waiting during the call until everything is loaded is not good.
- In order not to lose or forget anything, it is necessary to record calls. This is especially true for regular calls, important discussions and calls for new tasks.
- Start calls by going over previous arrangements.
- Do not start any meetings or calls immediately with business. It’s just bad manners. Ask about the weather, share your impression of a delicious coffee, and other light stuff.
- If new participants are attending, you should introduce them to the others.
- At the beginning of the call, announce the topic and a brief plan of discussion, remind about timing.
- Next, you should give the word to the speaker, if it is not the manager himself.
- During the call it is necessary to moderate the discussion in order to have time to discuss all the planned issues and fit into the timing.
- It is important to speak confidently and not rush your answer. If you are not ready to give an answer immediately, you should ask for time and promise to come back later (and really come back as soon as possible).
- If something is unclear, you should clarify it right away.
- At the end of the call (or at the end of each topic, if there are several), you should summarize the results: what was agreed, who is responsible, when we will get back.
- After the call, it is necessary to immediately write down the conclusions, and next to the decisions made it is necessary to indicate why they came to such decisions.
I am Sasha Tikhonov, co-founder and art director at Flyphant.
We are Flyphant. Mobile applications and web development, graphic design, motion graphics — this is all that we are not only able of but also love doing.
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