Effective communication is crucial for the smooth functioning of any business. Clear and effective communication between all stakeholders is paramount in today’s competitive business landscape. Efficiency in all spheres of business helps sharpens competitive edge across the board.
Video conferencing solutions assist in eliminating numerous physical barriers separating enterprises, people and their ideas. Along with reducing business travel and accommodating conflicting work schedules, there many benefits of modern video conferencing solutions. Over the years, many best practices of effective video conferencing have been lost. Our post shows you ways to host the most productive video conferencing sessions.
Source and setup the right VC equipment
Malfunctioning equipment is both embarrassing and inefficient. The troubleshooting that entails adds to the wastage of time. Aspects such as the positioning of the camera, microphone and boardroom lighting should also be taken into consideration while setting up the video conferencing session. Inability to see or hear each other properly can be avenues for serious miscommunication.
Many businesses shy away from investing in the latest VC equipment due to the cost implications. Although high definition video conferencing equipment may be slightly expensive, they are your best option for clear display of facial expressions & body language in remote meetings. This can be useful especially while conducting important interviews with prospective employees, saving substantial time and resources required for face-to-face interactions.
Prepare meticulously before the conferencing session
If you don’t prepare, you’re preparing yourself for setbacks. Hosting a video conference that flows efficiently from start to end, witness fewer interruptions and subsequently less time away from core duties. Achieving this requires thorough preparation and setup of the video conference equipment. Ensuring that all relevant material and data is procured and uploaded before video conference session to avoid delays during actual discussions.
Inefficient meetings have a cascading effect on all other subsequent tasks for all stakeholders involved. Going through a rough itinerary of the conference ahead of time will help determine any faulty equipment, documents, or connectivity issues. Any last minute changes or updates during the conference wastes valuable time and only serves to interrupt the flow of your meeting.
Ensure to have a high bandwidth connection
Video Conferencing, especially cloud-based HD variants require heavy bandwidth. The quality of your video streaming relies heavily on your bandwidth. Ensuring high bandwidth or having a dedicated line for video conferencing will ensure that there are no delays and buffering lags. These delays not only slow down the video conference itself, but also the information sharing process between the participants. Slow connections are not only annoying and but also inefficient, thereby obstructing productivity.
You can work with your IT department and AV integration company to conduct regular training, inspection routines and maintenance schedules to ensure all your VC equipment functions like a well-oiled machine.
Follow good meeting etiquette
Video conferencing is the closest thing to a face-to-face meeting, hence good meeting protocols must be observed. It is common courtesy to avoid checking your phone or other personal devices during meetings. Remember, the person on the other end of the screen can see everything that you’re doing, most probably in HD.
Although no travel expenses have been incurred, participants sacrifice time away from other responsibilities to be a part of the video conference. Distracted participants lead to people being asked to repeat themselves which can lead to miscommunication and even a leave a poor impression on the other stakeholders. Avoid interrupting the speaker and wait until they have finished talking before you share your thoughts. If many participants speak at the same time, key information might be missed, this would lead to repetitions and wastage of time.
We hope our tips help you get more out of your video conferencing sessions. For more such interesting blogs and articles visit our website regularly.
For more information on video conferencing and immersive Telepresence solutions for your business, contact Actis at 022-30808080 or at contact@actis.co.in.
(Content and image courtesy: www.avtsolutions.co.za and www.biamp.com)