Five Mistakes to Avoid in an Office Meeting while Working from Home

The concept of working from home on a daily basis is relatively new for many of us, and it can be useful to outline the new rules of the game at the very out start to avoid ending up making any embarrassing mistakes or coming off as unprofessional or unprepared for this new approach to conducting business. Here are five simple tips that can help you adapt better and quickly to the challenges of working from home.

Communication

If you have scheduled a virtual meeting for a certain time of the day, do not forget to communicate the hours to your family members. Make them aware of a new and stringent do not disturb rules during virtual meeting hours. Request their understanding and have them respect your space during the meeting hours. Nothing says unprofessional like a toddler throwing a tantrum in the background or a loose pet, creating a distraction during a serious work meeting.

Pick a well-lit room

Often times it is not enough to sit under the more toned down, low lighting we generally prefer for our rooms. During a meeting, it is advisable to set up one or two additional light sources in the meeting space. More light leads your workspace more positive energy and also makes you look more beautiful on the camera. If you are a person who wears glasses, it can make more sense to install your light sources on the sides rather than directly in front of you. This is because any light in front can create some distracting rings inside your glasses and prevent your colleagues from being able to see your eyes.

Internet Speed

It is extremely important to ensure that we have a potent and consistent internet connection while working from home. The required internet speed is 100 Mbps and above. It is always a good idea to do a test before the actual meeting to make sure the audio and video are streaming seamlessly.

Also read: Discover the 20 Best Legitimate Work from Home Jobs to do in 2020

Using the Video and Mute option adequately

Use the video option whenever possible while participating in virtual meetings. If you are the host, this is a must and a little less, so if you are an attendee. Keep in mind the host is always the last person to leave the meeting. When the participants are not speaking or contributing, it is better to put oneself on mute so as not to create unwanted distractions for other participants.

Streamline

Invite only the people that are actually required during the meeting. Having unnecessary participants can cause unnecessary inputs and distractions. Another option to consider is using a webinar format where only contributors are allowed to stream, and the attendees remain looped in as audience-only. This helps to maintain the focus and allows us to accomplish more during the meeting.

To conclude, it is important to keep the focus on the actual work-flow and not get carried away, only to end up overusing the latest trend of video conferencing. Productivity is not about going through as many meetings as possible, but about completing projects.