While video call was previously used by many businesses for meetings, the pandemic drastically accelerated this trend. Companies went effectively overnight from relying on in-person meetings, whether in-office with employees or with clients, to having to rely solely on video calls if they wanted “face-to-face” contacted.

Luckily, this shift was easy for many. A vast majority of people will also keep using video call as a primary means of communication after the pandemic.

With this increased, and potentially permanent, use of video call for business communication, should we be aware of certain video call rules of etiquette?

Ultimately, video call etiquette is similar to that of in-person and phone call meetings. Having good manners and being professional at all times is crucial. Being prepared is also an important element of hosting successful video calls.

Read on for some more important video call etiquette tips to ensure your calls go smoothly and you represent yourself and your company in the best manner possible.

In Advance of the Video Call

A large part of presenting yourself well in video calls is being prepared for them. Use the following tips to make sure you’re ready to host a successful video call.

Choose the Best Area for Video Calls

Make sure you choose the best spot in your home for video calls. Consider the elements below when choosing the best place to hold your video call.

Background

Try to find a space with a plain background. This could be a plain wall or another simple background, such as in front of a bookcase.

Do be wary of using “fun” backgrounds that are added within platforms. These may be appropriate and accepted for internal calls but never use these for external meetings!

However, minimal in-platform backgrounds can be useful if you don’t have an appropriate background in your home. These can also be used if the best room in your house for lighting, privacy, and noise level doesn’t have a minimal background to sit in front of.

In these cases, choose a plain neutral colored background. You could also use the “blur background” feature offered on some video platforms.

Choose a location with minimal clutter and a clean background to conduct video calls in.

Lighting

Additionally, choose an area with as much natural light as possible. If you don’t benefit from a lot of natural light in your home, consider buying some lighting. You can purchase affordable filming lights online from a multitude of vendors.

Noise Level

The area also needs to be as quiet as possible. If you have the choice, don’t choose a “high-traffic” or very noisy area in your home.

This includes areas where family or roommates may be going in and out, talking, or on calls of their own. This can be very distracting to all on the call. A computer microphone will also pick-up all other noise in the area, in a way a phone call would not as clearly.

Practice Looking at the Camera

Many people struggle to look directly into the camera. They may look in another direction or be looking at the screen with their image, which often appears as a small inset window.

To improve your “on-camera” skills, test out how well you look into the camera before calls. To do this, open your webcam and practice talking as if on a call. You could also practice on a video call with friends or family members.

A quirky tip is to place two googly eyes (or something similar like small stickers) on either side of your webcam. Then look at those throughout the call. This helps keep your eyes focused on one spot so it will appear as though you’re looking straight at others on the call.

Minimize Distractions

Before a video call, remove as many distractions as possible. Tell other people in the house that you’ll be on a call; Ask that they be as quiet as possible and not disturb you.

Ask that children to be taken care of by another carer as well. Additionally, household pets should be placed in another room away from where you are making the call.

If these things are not possible, consider choosing another location to make the call.

Remove as many distractions as possible, including asking others to be quiet and keeping kids and pets out of the room.

Test Your Tech Ahead of Time

Before your call, test all the related technology. Check your internet connection is strong in the area you will make the call.

Also, check that your camera and microphone are working and that you can be seen and heard clearly.

Lastly, make sure there are no issues with the video platform you’re using and make sure your computer battery is fully charged if using a laptop. If possible, plug your charger in during the call to ensure you won’t run out of battery.

Dress Appropriately

Just because you aren’t in the office, it doesn’t mean you can avoid dressing professionally when on video calls. This is especially true when on client calls.

Even if you wear casual clothing during the rest of your at-home workday, change into a professional outfit for video calls.

Doing this can also give you more confidence. This can help a lot on client calls, especially if it's your first contact.

Never Call “Uninvited”

Video calls should not be used as phone calls sometimes are. Calling people you need to connect with without notice should not be done.

You don’t necessarily need to plan video calls days in advance. But do send an email asking if the person is available for a quick video call.

Also, don’t use video calls excessively. Think about if a call is necessary or if an email would suffice. Constantly scheduling video calls with colleagues or clients when emails are appropriate can get annoying and result in your video call requests being denied.

Be Prepared and Have an Agenda

Whether you are participating in an internal or external meeting, an agenda is a must for video calls.

This doesn’t need to be a highly detailed agenda. An outline covering the main things to be discussed is sufficient. Also, make note of all questions and comments you have.

Additionally, note any questions, ideas, and comments you think of during the call too. Ask these questions or add your comments and ideas before signing off the call.

This is important because unlike when in-office, you cannot just go to someone’s office or desk with a question or comment you forgot in the meeting. While you can email or message, it may take longer to get an answer which can delay you acting on things discussed on the call.

Even if out of the office, always dress in work attire for video calls, especially if it’s a client call.

Let Others Know of Delays in Advance

Always notify call participants in advance of delays that may occur. This includes connecting to the call later than scheduled or needing to end the call earlier than expected.

This is especially crucial to do if participating in a multi-person call. Joining the call late as others are already in discussion can disrupt the conversation. You’ll also have to take the time to apologize and explain your lateness.

If it’s known that you will join later, then no discussion will be necessary when you join. Or, others will be prepared to quickly get you up to date without the need for any other explanation. The same goes for if you have to leave early, everyone will be prepared for this making ending the call smoother and less disruptive.

During the Video Call

Now that you’re fully prepared for your video call, keep the following in mind when on the call itself.

Put Yourself on Mute When Not Talking

It can also be good practice to put yourself on mute when not talking. This is because there's a good chance there will be background noise on your end.

This noise may not be loud enough to be an issue when you’re talking, However, it can be annoying if street noise or others in your home, for example, can be heard while someone else is talking.

Of course, remember to unmute yourself when you want to talk.

Speak Loudly and Clearly

Ensure you speak as loudly and clearly as possible. It will generally be harder to hear each participant when using video as opposed to when on a phone call.

Also, consider using an external microphone, as the microphones on many laptops are not very strong.

Again, you could do a practice call in advance to make sure you can speak at a consistent and clear volume.

Don’t Eat or Drink on the Call

Unless the call is planned to mimic a lunch meeting, don’t eat while on your video call. Try not to drink too much either; Instead make sure you have a glass of water or other drink before the call begins.

Not only does eating or drinking appear unprofessional, the sound of doing so can be picked up by your microphone which is very distracting to others on the call.

When talking on a video call, speak loudly and clearly. When not talking, put yourself on mute.

Be Careful When Screen Sharing

Be careful with screen sharing too! If you think there’s a chance you’ll have to share your screen, exit out of anything you don’t want to be seen. This includes personal tabs and pages with confidential information.

Ideally, close all windows before your call. You could even add an extra user account just for calls. This account will then have no other windows open except for the ones needed for the call.

Disable notifications that appear on your screen too. Whether that’s notification of new emails, texts, or reminders you have set up.

These will be visible on the screen share and may contain personal or confidential information. Having personal messages appear on screen, even if not private, can look unprofessional too.

End the Call Properly

You don’t want to be in a situation where you think you’ve ended the video call only to find out later that you could still be seen and/or heard! Make sure the call is really ended and exit out of the video call platform being used.

Then access your computer settings to ensure your microphone and camera are off. Many computers have a signal that these are on, such as a colored light next to your camera, but always double-check.

Consider covering your camera when not in use too.

After the Video Call

Be sure to follow up with video call participants after the call. This can include emailing a summary of the meeting and outlining what the next steps are.

You may also have promised to send certain resources or information. Make sure these items get sent as soon as possible after the call is finished.

If someone else promised to send this summary or provide you with something, send a quick email thanking call participants for their time. Then mention that you look forward to receiving their correspondence with the requested information.

Additionally, if you experienced any issues during the call on your end, look into why this happened and fix it before your next call.

In Conclusion

Hosting a successful video call relies on many things also needed to host a successful phone call or in-person meeting. Preparation is key and you should keep professionalism in mind at all times.

However, there are a few things to keep in mind that apply specifically to video calls. This includes thinking about where you will hold the call, checking all the technology involved works, and ensuring the video call is properly exited out of.

If you keep the discussed video call etiquette tips in mind, then you should have no problems with holding productive and enjoyable video calls!

Video Call Etiquette