Top tips for a successful web meeting

While using 3CX ensures the technological side of web meetings go smoothly, there are lots of things that can make it awkward for attendees and organisers. Follow these top tips to make sure everyone emerges happily at the end.

TIPS FOR Organisers

1 It’s obvious, but if this meeting is for employees then you should treat their time as a precious commodity – as you would for a physical meeting. So work out what you want to achieve, who you need to invite (and consider if they need to be there the whole time) and set a clear agenda.

2 Make sure you keep all your source material within easy reach. If you’re using digital resources (such as a PowerPoint file), put them in one place so they’re easy to find when necessary.

3 If you’ll be sharing your screen, look out for distracting or embarrassing documents! Clean up your desktop, remove that background image of your holiday in Magaluf, and switch off notifications – both from Windows and your mail client.

4 3CX WebMeeting makes it easy to quickly run polls during a meeting, which is both a great way to gain feedback on an idea and also to keep your audience engaged. You can then share the results in the meeting.

5Encourage

people to use the 3CX WebMeeting “Reactions” options during the meeting, whether that’s with a raised hand, a tick to agree, a cross to disagree or one of the many other options – such as like, dislike, idea and question, to name but four.

TIPS FOR Good audio

1Use a headset. It’s the best way to ensure that no echo or feedback can be heard during your meeting. 2If you can’t use a headset, place your microphone well away from your speakers to avoid horrible echo/feedback. 3Choose as quiet an environment as you can find. If noise is unavoidable, flick on the mute button when you aren’t talking.

TIPS FOR Good video

1 Good lighting is paramount. But don’t fall into the mistake of putting a light source behind you, as you will appear very dark in your camera feed. Instead, position the light source in front of you if you can.

2 Position your webcam at eye level, or at the top of the screen you will be mainly looking at during the web meeting.

3 Centre your preview on your mouth. Participants are interested in what you’re saying, not your ceiling.

4 If you need to refer to documents during the call, put them near the top of your screen to simulate eye contact.

5 Avoid wearing patterned clothing as patterns can appear fuzzy on the viewer’s screen.

6 Be mindful of your background. If too much is happening (such as people walking around), your viewers may be distracted.