Putting Your Best Virtual Foot Forward
By Heidi Sadecky, MA,PCC – Executive Coach & Director, Townsend Leadership Program
Virtual meetings are here to stay across every business sector. It’s worth putting in the effort to make a good impression online.
First impressions matter, especially when you’re interacting with potential clients or trying to grow your business. But how do we translate good professional etiquette into the world of virtual meetings?
Good preparation for meetings is key for good leadership, as leaders will set the standard for company culture. There are five things you can do today that will not only improve the impression you make on people you meet with but also help keep your meetings productive and focused.
1. Test your equipment before showtime.
No one wants to be the one fumbling around with their microphone settings when the meeting should have started already. While you review and prepare for your meeting, also take the time to check that your computer, camera, microphone, and software are all working as expected.
2. Eliminate distractions and stage yourself.
People show up to meetings with you because they want to see you, not your messy bedroom or half-eaten food. You can do yourself a favor by removing any distracting background items and making you are front and center in the camera lens. This will help attendees focus on what you have to say. Maybe try setting up your computer in different rooms to see where your online presence looks best.
3. Set a meeting agenda.
It feels really lousy to spend valuable meeting time going way off-topic. Even a short and simple meeting agenda will go a long way to help everybody stay on task and address the issues at hand. When you send a meeting agenda to attendees beforehand, it will help them to prepare themselves for the flow of the virtual meeting. One of the best ways to demonstrate professional etiquette is being respectful of people’s time.
4. For large meetings, appoint a moderator.
If you’ve ever been to an “all-hands on deck” company-wide meeting, you know how easily these large virtual gatherings can get off-topic. A moderator has the important job of managing everyone’s time, setting expectations, and lassoing unrelated conversations to get meetings back on track.
5. Treat your virtual meetings like the real thing — because they are.
Treat your online meetings as though they were in person, especially when we’re talking about virtual job interviews, client introductions, or sales pitches. You would take the extra effort to drive out to a new client’s office, so you should also go the extra mile for a virtual meeting. Be conversational, just like you would in person! And, definitely, always be sure to dress your best, even though you’re the only one actually in the room. A little extra effort will pay huge dividends as you develop more and more virtual relationships with clients.
Keep these tips in mind, and you can feel confident and prepared for virtual meetings. These meetings don’t have to be a boring drag on productivity, they can be a powerful tool for keeping organized and communicating clearly. When executive leadership coaches their teams on running productive video conferences, everyone can spend their time and energy more wisely. So many online meetings are humdrum and tedious, but it doesn’t have to be that way!
Heidi Sadecky is a highly-trained executive coach with over 30 years of combined corporate and coaching experience. She helps her clients operate at a higher level, overcome workplace challenges and achieve measurable results.
She is an in-demand facilitator of the only Townsend Leadership Program, a unique and highly effective group coaching program located in the North East United States.
In-person, virtual and hybrid leadership groups are now forming.