Work From Home Tips: Online Meetings and Webinars

If you are working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic, you’re probably attending more Webex and Microsoft Teams meetings and webinars than you did in the past. You’ve probably gotten pretty good with the technology, but how good are your manners?

Online etiquette, like etiquette in general, helps promote professional communication, respect and greater efficiency. Online etiquette is not much different from an in-person meeting or presentation, but it has a technological twist.

Here are some tips to make the most of your online meetings. 

Tips for Attendees

1. Show up on time—or early.
If you're late, you might miss important information, and it could disrupt the presentation. If you arrive early, you can test your audio so that you can be sure people can hear you.

2. Maintain a professional appearance.

You might not be in the office, but you're still attending a work meeting. Change out of your pajamas, and keep in mind that everyone can see you on a video call.

3. Unless you're talking, keep your device muted.
You’ve probably been in online meetings and heard mystery sounds in the background…hands drumming, dogs barking or a dryer tumbling. You may not be aware of the sounds in your own environment if you're wearing headphones. Sounds can be distracting and can reduce the audio quality for everyone else, so the best practice is to mute yourself unless you're talking.

4. Know when to use the chat room.
Sometimes, chat comments can be useful—for example, when you are sharing a link to a resource that is relevant to the conversation—but side chats can be distracting.

5. Be ready to speak up!
Don't let your cursor drift too far from the unmute button. Be prepared to participate. And if it seems like everyone is ignoring you and talking over you, double check that you have unmuted your device.

Tips for Meeting Presenters

1. Practice makes perfect sense.
Take time before the webinar to test out your tools and have all your files ready. If you are new to presenting, practice with a coworker first to make sure you're comfortable using the meeting software. Make sure you know how to share your screen and mute participants.

2. Shut down non-essentials.
When you’re presenting, close any programs that you don’t need for the meeting, such as your email.

3. Slow down.
Hosting an online meeting is different from a face-to-face conversation, especially if you are using slides and the listeners don't have physical cues to follow your conversations. Slow your speaking speed if you naturally speak fast. If you are doing a demo, pause between steps to allow for lag time your viewers may have. If you ask a question, pause a little longer than you otherwise might...it’s hard to know if someone might be formulating a question.

4. Don’t read your slides out loud.
You want your audience to pay attention to what you're saying, so keep your PowerPoint slides simple, with bullet points and visuals that support—not transcribe—what you're saying.

5. Keep people engaged.
Ask questions. Give the floor to others. Encourage interaction to keep people's attention.

For More Information

The Remote Worker Resources hub from Education & Organizational Development and TSG has all the information and job aids you'll need if you are working remotely. A link to it is available from the Coronavirus hub.