Video meetings are a great way to communicate with remote employees and colleagues. It’s easy to set up and use, and can be a useful tool for training and teaching. However, it’s important to make sure that you follow a few best practices to get the most out of your experience.
1. Don’t talk in your computer microphone if you want to be heard by everyone else on the call.
Using a computer microphone can distract other meeting participants and make it difficult to hear what you’re saying. This is especially true when your audio quality is poor, so it’s a good idea to avoid talking into the microphone if you’re going to be on video for any amount of time.
2. Don’t be a distraction on the call by adjusting your screen or your background.
While adjusting your desktop or screen can improve the audio and video quality of a Teams meeting, it can also be a distraction for other people on the call. That’s why it’s a good idea to keep your desk or office clear of any distracting materials and devices, like your laptop or tablet.
3. Don’t turn your back on the camera or block the view of it for “far-enders.”
When a group is video conferencing, it’s often tempting to multitask, especially when you have to switch between the webcam and your computer’s screen. This can be a big distraction to other people on the call, so try to keep your focus on the camera and your team members during a Teams video call.
4. Do a walk-through before the meeting begins.
When you’re about to start a Teams video call, it’s a good idea to walk through your office and test out each room’s video connection and Wi-Fi connectivity. This can help you make sure that your team’s entire network is setup for Teams meetings.
5. Don’t forget to save your meeting recording.
If you have a conference or meeting that’s recorded in Teams, it will be saved to the Microsoft Stream service and available for anyone to watch at any time. This is especially useful for those who may have missed the meeting or want to review it later.
6. Create a video lecture from Teams
If your team frequently conducts meetings in Teams, you may want to record them and make them available for others to watch asynchronously. This is a great way to make presentations for upcoming courses or other content modules.
7. Share a link to the meeting with your team
When a recording is created in Teams, it can be shared with anyone who wasn’t invited to the video recording, as long as they have an account. This can be done by tapping the three-dot icon next to the video’s thumbnail on the Chat tab page, and then selecting “Share.”
8. Use the Spotlight feature during a Teams meeting
You can use the Spotlight feature in a Teams video meeting to highlight a single participant’s voice or video for better visibility. This can be a useful way to highlight specific points during the meeting, especially when you’re giving a presentation or explaining something that requires a lot of visual aids.