Do's for web video conferencing services

There is a bit of wisdom circulating that says, quite simply, that it is easier to do what you are asked to do that to not do what you are told not to do. We've offered up a no-no list for bad etiquette not to follow when utilizing audio and web video conferencing services, but now it is time for positive reinforcement.

Consider some sage advice the next time you find yourself preparing to run a meeting using web and video conferencing services. Video web attendees of the meeting will appreciate the following "do's."

Do:

• Take a dry run - test equipment and web video conferencing services to avoid embarrassing technical difficulties
• Make it official - open and close meetings formally and professionally so everyone knows it's time for business
• Make friends with mute - block out sneezes, but be certain you're off mute when you chime in with ideas
• Start precisely on time - prompt arrivals should never be held up by tardy participants
• Follow usual protocol - distribute an agenda and take attendance, minutes and notes as you normally would
• Identify yourself - some attendees may not recognize everyone else's voice, so repeat names before each statement
• Give out dial-in and passcode numbers and time zone-adjusted meeting times - Web conference call providers can assist

Although the aforementioned "do's"of video conferencing on the web deal mainly with audio concerns, remember there is a somewhat different set of do's and don'ts when using other conferencing services: video, web, etc. Visuals introduce a whole other dimension of etiquette that needs to be followed. While it is similar to person-to-person contact, there are special considerations to be made for the camera. We'll talk more about best videoconferencing practices later.

Let's face facts: Telecommunications is a crowded field and getting more and more competitive by the day. The prospect of choosing from among the many web conference call providers can be daunting indeed. A few common-sense practices, which we will address later, should help.