Many of us had to dig in and work from home during the pandemic. In fact, some businesses found their staff were more productive and provided better results when working from home. As a result, many companies have stuck with remote or hybrid working arrangements. A recent survey found that 83% of employees didn’t feel they needed to be in an office to be productive, and 63% replied they would be more productive in a home office than a regular one. Business video conferences and meetings on video-communication platforms are every day for staff working from home full-time. Remote teams ought to do their best to avoid the dreaded Zoom-barassment and adhere to the etiquette of professional video meetings as much as possible. To help you out, we’ve come up with this article for staff working remotely on how to avoid it.
Check Your Camera And Mic Work Beforehand
Unless, for privacy reasons, your work explicitly forbids you from using a camera during video meetings, it’s polite and more personable to switch your camera on when speaking. It’s also no use launching into a long conversation in a work video meeting if your mute button is on or your mic is disabled, and as a result, nobody can hear what you’re trying to say.
These may seem like minor gripes, but they are things your colleagues will quickly pick up on when you spend a significant amount of time conversing with them over video-communication platforms such as Zoom, Google Meets, Microsoft Teams, Skype and so on. So, get it right and check that your camera and mic are working before starting your online work conferences.
Also, make sure your internet is working smoothly to prevent interruptions. If you’re looking to upgrade, you could check out something like these Starlink internet plans if you’re looking for high-speed, low latency service for your remote meetings.
Speak Clearly And Slowly
Try and express yourself by speaking loudly and clearly. If you are muffled for whatever reason, it will be considerably more challenging for your colleagues to understand you. Eliminate as many communication barriers as possible and speak clearly in video meetings at work. It’s also a good idea to make an effort to avoid talking too quickly, as this can make it hard for others to follow you, particularly if you have colleagues who are not native English speakers.
Wear Appropriate Clothing
Much like you would if you were entering the office in person when preparing to go onto a work video conference call, think about what constitutes appropriate clothing. If it’s a formal meeting about serious matters, you may want to wear a suit or traditional dark coloured plain office clothes. However, if you know you’re going into a video meeting that is a bit more informal, you could maybe dress a bit more casually and put on a jumper or t-shirt. Use your common sense and try not to wear anything displaying profanities or shocking images. And yes, it may look odd to your employer if you stand up and everyone sees that you’re wearing a full suit and tie on your top half, but P.E shorts or underwear on your bottom half.
Get Your Teeth Looking Dazzling
For some reason, it’s well known that having crooked teeth isn’t too uncommon amongst Brits. Do you do your best to try and be a positive person at work who smiles a lot on work video calls? In that case, check out this article from Straight My Teeth to find out more about ideas for correcting your misaligned teeth. You won’t regret it when you can casually show off your pearly whites to your colleagues on the camera at every ample opportunity.
Tidy The Room Up A Little Bit
Maybe it shouldn’t be the case, but your colleagues, especially those in more senior roles like managers and directors, may look down on you for showing the messy room you’re working from on camera in professional video meetings. So, it’s in your best interests to tidy the place up a bit or make sure some of your clutter is at least out of shot of the camera or webcam while you’re on a work video call. This isn’t a suggestion that you need to clean your house top to bottom before sitting on a conference call. However, the least you can do is make it look like you take care of yourself by having a tidy home office space. If you don’t have a dedicated home office, not to worry; just find a part of a bedroom, the lounge, or the kitchen, which is relatively plain and do your calls from there.
Warn Other Members Of Your Household
It’s also good practice to provide other household members with some prior warning that you’re about to start a work video call meeting soon. After all, we know how much shouting and door slamming goes on in busy homes with many occupants. Before it’s too late and one of your family members comes unbeknownst storming into one of your meetings, take the step of providing them with some necessary warning.
So, these are a few top tips on how best staff working remotely can avoid Zoom-barassment. When working from home, it’s still crucial for you to keep things friendly and professional. Don’t let standards drop just because you’re not working in a traditional office work environment.
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