6 Meeting Prep Tips You Shouldn’t Skip

Jumping into a virtual gathering without basal prep tin origin unnecessary hiccups for you and others. To support things creaseless and debar immoderate last-minute stress, I ever tally done a speedy pre-meeting checklist. It helps maine drawback and hole immoderate issues earlier the telephone starts.

6 Test Your Microphone and Camera

There’s thing much frustrating oregon unprofessional than joining a gathering and realizing nary 1 tin perceive you oregon spot your video. If it’s simply a muted mic oregon a switched-off camera successful the app, that’s a speedy fix. But if it’s a hardware contented oregon a deeper bundle glitch, things tin get tricky fast. Similarly, mediocre audio oregon video prime tin beryllium conscionable arsenic embarrassing.

To debar immoderate issues during the meeting, I ever test my camera and microphone beforehand. I usually unfastened the camera app, grounds a abbreviated video with sound, and play it backmost to guarantee everything’s moving arsenic expected. I besides trial the mic and camera straight successful the gathering app I’ll beryllium using. It’s a elemental measurement that tin prevention you from unnecessary last-minute pressure.

5 Confirm You're Logged Into the Right Account

Whether you’ve scheduled the gathering oregon were invited to it, marque definite you're signed successful with the aforesaid relationship you utilized to make oregon person the invite. If you power betwixt aggregate accounts, similar connected Zoom oregon Microsoft Teams, logging successful to the incorrect 1 tin halt you from opening the nexus oregon joining the call.

When utilizing a browser, it mightiness automatically log you into your default account. If that’s not the close relationship for the meeting, you whitethorn not person entree to be it. I’ve had this hap a fewer times connected Google Meet. To prevention yourself from delays, rapidly cheque if you're utilizing the close relationship connected the app’s page, and power if needed.

4 Make Sure Your Internet Connection Is Stable

Even with each the due prep, a dilatory net transportation tin ruin your meeting. Lagging video, choppy audio, oregon random disconnections tin permission a atrocious impression. To debar that benignant of embarrassment, I ever check my net speed earlier a meeting. If it feels slow, I instrumentality a fewer steps to guarantee the telephone goes smoothly.

First, I disconnect different devices from the web to guarantee the instrumentality I usage has the astir bandwidth. I besides adjacent unnecessary apps oregon downloads moving successful the background. Moving person to the router oregon utilizing a wired Ethernet transportation besides helps. And conscionable successful case, I support a backup ready—like a mobile hotspot—so I’m covered if thing goes wrong.

3 Mute All Notifications Before Joining

Imagine you’re sharing your surface successful a meeting, and abruptly a idiosyncratic connection notification pops up for everyone to see—pretty awkward, right? Even if the notification isn’t private, app alerts oregon reminders tin inactive interruption your focus. That’s wherefore you should negociate them earlier the gathering starts. What I usually bash is crook disconnected each notifications.

If you're utilizing Windows, you tin disable notifications by opening the Settings app, going to System > Notifications, and switching disconnected the "Notifications" toggle.

To negociate your notifications connected macOS, click the "Apple" paper successful the top-left country and unfastened "System Settings." Then, spell to the "Notifications" tab to set the settings.

2 Double-Check the Meeting Time and Join Early

Early successful my freelance journey, I missed a fewer opportunities simply due to the fact that I didn’t afloat grasp the clip portion differences. Even if it’s unintentional, showing up precocious tin marque you look unreliable oregon unprofessional. That’s wherefore I ever double-check the gathering clip and amusement up connected time, particularly erstwhile gathering with idiosyncratic successful a antithetic clip zone.

I petition the lawsuit to springiness the gathering clip successful UTC and past person it to my section time. I besides acceptable a reminder for myself to debar forgetting. If it’s not already a calendar invite, adding it to your calendar tin assistance too. I urge joining a fewer minutes aboriginal to get settled and hole immoderate last-minute method issues. Those other fewer minutes tin marque a difference!

1 Preview Your On-Camera Appearance

How we contiguous ourselves connected camera greatly influences the content we marque connected imaginable employers, clients, oregon colleagues. That’s why, earlier each video call, I cheque a fewer things: I guarantee the lighting isn’t excessively harsh, the camera is astatine the close angle, I’m centered successful the frame, and the webcam lens is clean.

If my inheritance is excessively messy, I blur the background oregon usage the built-in inheritance filters disposable successful astir gathering apps. Whether adjusting my seat oregon fixing my hair, a speedy cheque earlier the telephone helps maine debar surprises. Most video apps let you to preview your camera earlier joining—always instrumentality a infinitesimal to cheque however you look.

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These are immoderate steps I instrumentality earlier joining immoderate gathering to marque a bully content and prevention others’ time. You should travel them, too, truthful thing catches you disconnected guard.