Using these tips you will be able to communicate the right thing to the group of people in the meeting. In an online meeting you will get only a few minutes to convey information from your side, if you do not convey it efficiently, then all you have worked on would be a waste. Earlier we used to go to the office and be in person when presenting ourselves. This had several advantages of it’s own, such as

1. Ability to have eye contact with people
2. Ability to have a complete control of how loud you sound
3. Ability to understand how people feel as you are speaking
4. Ability to listen to the speaker without being distracted by other work and more…

Now the situation is such that, we use online video calling tools such as Google Meet ( GMeet ), Zoom Meet App, Teams App, Cisco WebX App, WhatsApp video call, Skype or any other custom tool to connect with our family, friends and team. In this article we will read as to how you can make the most out of these calls.

1. Track your daily work

Use a notepad or your slack personal space or visual studio code or tools that allow you to create a list of tasks that you have done. This will help you track what you have been spending your work time on. The reason is, at the time of your standup meeting, you might not be able to recollect everything that you did. This will also work when you prepare for the meeting, which we will read in detail in the 4rth point of this post. I use tools like Visual Studio Code & Notion.so to track my work, which comes handy everytime I get on a meeting.

2. Check your internet connection

When on a virtual meeting, a crucial thing is your voice, if it cracks on the call, you will not be able to communicate what you intended over the call, and the opportunity to communicate over the call on time is over. So instead of making people wait when over the call, it is better to check your internet by using tools like speedtest.net, or checking the Zoom options for specifications, or starting a demo call on Google Meet to check your internet connection before the meeting.

3. Prepare for the meeting in detail

This might sound a bit of extra work that you need to do, but trust me, it helps. It is better to have the agenda, points about which you are going to speak about, or even better the script of what you are going to speak, so that you can read it during the meeting in a tone that seems like you are speaking. This will help you atleast until you pick up that confidence, rapport and fluence in the language that you are speaking in the meeting.

4. Stay on mute when it's not your chance to speak

When we are speaking with someone, it is disturbing if someone else makes noise on their microphone even non-intensionally. So let the change begin from you.

5. Be loud, clear and speak in moderate speed

Since you are not in person for the meeting, if you are soft and in a quiet voice, then it is not only hard for the other person to hear, but also might lead to miscommunication. It will also seem like you are someone with lack of confidence. So be vibrant, enthusiastic, loud and clear when you speak. It is also important to speak in a slow or moderate speed when speaking, this is for everyone to follow you and understand what you are trying to explain, as many of the calls are audio only, so that is the only way people can make sense of what you are trying to communicate.

6. Smile when you speak

If you think the above point is for video call only, then you’re wrong. It is important to smile when you speak, even on phone. You can test this out.

Test yourself: Take a paragraph, record yourself speaking it without smiling. Record the same by speaking it with a bright smile. You yourself can tell the difference.

7. Dress well and check your lighting

It feels good to look at someone who is dressed neatly, it shows how dedicated they are to the work and how important the call is to them. It is not only that, the dress you wear affects the mood of both you and others around you. Check the lighting conditions, make sure the light source isn’t behind you, but is in front of you.

8. Show variation in your tone

A single flat tone will cause the participants to become bored of hearing and they might even lose track of what you are saying. Instead bring variation in the tone as you speak. This also shows that you are enthusiastic and happy to work. This will also boost your mood and help you work better.

9. Stress on important words

Pause and stress on words that are important and you want others to pay attention to. Sometimes the participants would be lost in their thoughts or might be thinking what they should speak when their turn comes. By following tone variations and stressing on words, and taking those necessary silent pauses will help to grab their attention and to get them thinking.

10. Avoid umm and ah kind of pauses

Just because you read about taking pauses, doesn’t mean you should use umm and ah.. kind of pauses. If you do not know what to say, it is better to stay silent or tell that you need some time to think about it and that you will get back later.

11. Don't use shortforms

Assuming that everyone is on the same page as you is not the smart think. Be aware that before you jump into the main topic, you have everyone that is on call in sync with you. So give them a brief before talking about the actual topic. At the same time, do not use any shortforms in the calls or in groups. Everyone might not be aware as to what those shortforms mean, so it will lead them to lose track who knows, even for the rest of the call, so make sure to stress on using full forms rather than using shortforms.

Thank you fo reading, please feel free to checkout other articles. https://www.tharunshiv.com

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