Sometimes, it’s not feasible to have multiple employees or clients visiting one office to have a meeting.
This is where video and conference calls come in handy; being able to discuss business from your own home, or when on-the-go, is a lot more cost-effective, time-efficient and environmentally-friendly than several individuals travelling across the country to be in one place for a few minutes.
However, most of you know that video calls are not always the smoothest of operations. One person can’t hear anything, one person’s picture is distorted, and another’s computer keeps crashing. While some technical difficulties are unavoidable, there are some areas where you can ensure that your business calls run much more smoothly than before.
Set out your objectives.
Let’s face it, many of us have been to meetings, both in-person and virtually, where we have no idea what we’re there for. Start the call with introductions and clear aims. And, if you discover that there’s not much point in having a full-blown meeting, maybe set up a group chat on a messaging app like Slack or Microsoft Teams to discuss your meeting topic instead.
Be organised.
Make sure everyone knows the date and time of the meeting and has everything they need to be prepared, whether that’s documents, images or a mindmap. Tell everyone to add it to their diary, or send out a calendar invite with the day and time of the call.
Send a reminder.
Nowadays, thanks to online calendars like Google and Outlook, we usually get an automatic reminder of our appointments. But, it’s a good idea to send out an email the day before. Some people don’t check their calendars as often as others, so they could still forget if not reminded.
Send out the agenda.
You should have a structured plan of what needs to be talked about during the meeting. Giving everyone the information beforehand helps everyone get on the same page from the very start of the session.
Arrive early.
Try to be at least 10-15 minutes early so that you can check any equipment and your internet connectivity. This way, if there is an issue, you have some time to address it and fix it. Encourage other attendees to do the same so that they are ready to start before the meeting even begins.
Have a designated note-taker.
It’s always good to take notes, but it can be hard to focus on the conversation while scribbling in a notepad. Your note-taker could act as a moderator for the call, or be one of your employees within the video link. These notes should be sent out to all attendees post-call, just in case someone has missed something or needs to refresh at a later date.
Alternatively, and if everyone agrees to it, you could record your video chat to look back on in the future.
Give everyone a chance to speak.
A moderator is a good way to make sure everyone gets their say. There can be many voices during a business call, so it’s vital that everyone has a chance to contribute.
Of course, face-to-face meetings are often the best way to discuss business. But, we know it’s just not possible sometimes, especially if you have employees or clients across the country or even the world. Using video call technology is a little more personable than an email or phone call, and you can chat with multiple people at any one time. We hope, with these tips, your next video call runs so slickly, that it’ll feel like your colleagues are in the same room as you.
Speak to a member of our team about how you can boost your team’s productivity with technology.