Remote meetings have been around for many years. COVID has turned remote meetings into a necessity, as the usual face-to-face encounters become a rare occurrence. From a technology perspective, we live in a truly wonderful time where just with a few clicks, we can see and hear our business partners, clients, co-workers, and even family and friends on our screen.
- To make remote meetings as productive as possible, here are some tips:
- Use a quality webcam. Preferably from a name brand like Logitech, Microsoft, and others. Make sure to get a resolution of 720p or higher, with a built-in microphone.
- Use a headset or microphone, if your webcam does not have a high quality microphone.
- Take your pick from popular video conferencing services, if you need to host the meeting. Zoom and Microsoft Teams are my favorites, and many also use Webex, Gotomeeting, and others.
- Check your internet bandwidth. It’s important to ensure that you have adequate internet speed. Use Google’s speed test or speedtest.net. You should have a minimum of 1 Mbps, and preferably 4 Mbps or higher. Tip: Tell your family to not stream videos during your important meeting as this can degrade your available bandwidth.
- Remove clutter from your background if possible, or blur your background.
- Avoid noise in the background if possible. Even your furnace or AC kicking on can sometimes create distraction.
- Test! Make sure to do an audio and video check with a trusted partner before your important meeting.
- Turn on your video. Meeting remotely is hard enough to establish rapport and build relationship. It’s worse if you can’t see each other. Check yourself prior to the meeting, then turn on your video.
Good luck, be yourself, be sincere and supportive of each other.