I swear I read an article on Microsoft Teams online meeting etiquette (or any online meeting for that matter), but alas I can’t find it. A customer reported a bunch of the usual stuff so I thought I could point them towards said article. Instead I had to resort to what I had in my head, and here it is for all to share.
Online meeting etiquette tips
- Set an agenda and include it in the online meeting invite
- Read the agenda and come prepared
- Try to avoid multi-tasking while in an online meeting – if you don’t need to be there, then excuse yourself
- Keep yourself on mute unless you are speaking – unexpected noise can really disrupt the flow
- Give people a few seconds to speak when called upon – un-muting can take longer than you think!
- Use video when speaking, but feel free to turn it off when your not
- Be conscious that its easy to talk over one another due to the slight delay and limited visual cues – do your best to ‘give way’ and don’t try and talk over the top of one another
- If you are sharing your screen or presenting, be sure to close any applications you don’t want to share and turn off notifications and sounds
- If there are post online meeting objectives, make sure they are clear – it could just be the next online meeting date/time
- When in doubt, practice common courtesy
And some COVID-19 online meeting etiquette extra’s brought to you by Mark Maughan:
- Say hello to anyone’s kids that happen to pop into frame
- Don’t worry if someone is holding a pet
- Make Agenda item 1 “check how people are doing”
Learn More
For even more online meeting etiquette and Microsoft Office 365 tips, check out The Office 365 Good Etiquette Guide, a website dedicated to the cause! Also, check out my tips for working from home.
If you have any other items you think I should add, let me know!
