5 Tips for Successful Video Calls

It’s 2024 and we can all name more video calling tools than ice cream brands. (That’s not just us, right?)

Video calls in the workplace help us save time without compromising productivity, and 45% of teams already use video calling daily or weekly.

But despite how often we hop on calls, video conferences are not always frictionless. Loud background noises, late starts, and technical difficulties are still cited among the most common annoyances when conducting video calls.

So whether you engage in sales calls, interviews, company town halls, or one-on-one meetings, here are our top tips to help you make your video calls run smoothly.

What makes a video call go well - or go south

Let’s start by identifying the factors that make a successful video call.

Clarity of communication

Being on a call with bad audio quality is like trying to have a conversation in the middle of a blasting concert.

Issues like echo and background noise are known to cause the most frustration for participants during video meetings.

How you look and sound during a call is influenced by many factors, including your location, your internet connection, or the quality of your equipment.

The video conferencing etiquette

Communication etiquette is as important for virtual meetings as it is for in-person interactions.

Referring to video meetings, the ‘protocol’ includes, for example, muting your microphone when not speaking, requesting approval before recording a meeting, following a certain dress code,or joining slightly ahead of time.

You can check a comprehensive guide to common video conferencing do’s and don’ts here.

Participant (dis)engagement

Regardless of the context, it’s safe to say that no one wants a meeting where one person controls all the speaking time while others are left completely disengaged.

Most people get distracted or straight out multitask during video conferences, and this can be due to many reasons, such as:

• not knowing if they are required to prepare or present (sometimes participants who have a passive role during calls feel the call wasn’t necessary in the first place);
• not being actively involved or asked for their opinion; 
• video conferencing meetings often last longer than necessary.

Practical tips for better video conferencing meetings

Here are our top five tips to help you improve the way you conduct or participate in video calls.

Tip #1: test your equipment, every time

Interruptions in sound, poor image quality, or low lighting can negatively affect how others perceive you during a video call.

You may come across as unprepared, disinterested, or simply unprofessional.

Luckily, such issues are easy to avoid with a quick webcam and microphone test before you join a call. Most video conferencing tools allow you to conduct such checks. 

A few other things that can help include:

• Maintaining a quiet environment with minimal (and predictable) background noise;
• Placing a lamp in front of you if natural light is not available;
• Using a good headset / microphone every time.

Tip #2: share an agenda

We all know how frustrating it can be to attend a meeting without knowing what is going to be discussed.

Every meeting (not just team meetings or sales calls, but also interviews) should have an agenda if you want participants to be prepared and give their best.

Here is how a meeting agenda can improve the efficiency of your video calls:

• It provides structure, helps participants stay focused and the conversation to stay on track;
• It sets clear objectives for everyone involved;
• It makes it easier for participants to be active and involved;
• It helps save time by prioritizing the most important issues to be discussed;
• It facilitates action-taking at the end of the meeting;
• It documents the meeting and helps with accountability.

Tip #3: simplify the tech stack

If you ever searched your inbox for the details of an upcoming meeting or event but just couldn’t remember who sent the invitation, you are not alone.

Organizing, sharing, and holding video conferences often happens across different platforms, which can easily make you lose track of things. 

To prevent confusion and complexity when organizing video meetings, consider replacing your suite of apps with a single solution.

Consolto is an all-in-one software platform for live video conferencing, appointment scheduling, call recording, storage, live chat, and more.

Our unified platform ensures that all the moving parts of a meeting are brought together so you can manage your meeting without the hassle of juggling multiple tools.

With Consolto embedded on your website, you get:

✔ scheduling software (replacing, for instance, Calendly)

✔ a live chat widget (that you can use instead of Intercom or Zendesk)

✔ a video calling platform (replacing your Zooms and Google Meets)

✔ a mini CRM to save your customer data, if needed, and

✔ cloud storage for your recordings (instead of Google Drive or Dropbox) - all in one place.

In addition, Consolto provides two-way scheduling and calling. This means customers can also initiate calls with you (instead of just the other way around), reducing the time it takes to get on a sales call with prospects.

Learn more about Consolto’s capabilities here.

Tip #4: actively promote interaction

No matter how formal or casual a meeting is, some participants will always feel uncomfortable or struggle to voice their opinions.

You can encourage participation using a variety of techniques, but also some of the features available in video conferencing tools.

For example, using screen sharing can capture participants’ attention more effectively than looking at a static screen, and can prompt questions and ideas.

‘Raise hand’ is another feature in video meeting software that enables attendees to indicate they would like to intervene, so hosts can allow them time to speak without being interrupted.

Polls are also a good way to gather input from everyone more easily without asking each attendee to take the floor.

If you’re interested in how popular video conferencing platforms compare in 2024, check our blog here.

Tip #5: make it REALLY easy to join

‍

It may sound counter intuitive, but video conferencing software is not that easy to use.

Sure, joining a video call on any given day at the office doesn’t pose any challenges.

‍

But just imagine this:

You have a remote work day and are asked to attend a last minute call. You click the meeting link but the video calling software just got an update and requires you to upgrade to the latest version.

The WiFi connection at your location is unstable and you can’t download the update, so you decide to attend the call on your phone. You install the software on your device but you need to recover your credentials in order to join with your business email.

By the time you join, it’s likely the meeting has already started. 

‍

Joining a call must be seamless, especially in the context of remote work.

Consolto makes it easy and straightforward to join meetings. With Consolto, there are no downloads, installs, or upgrades, and you can join meetings just as easily on the go as in the office.

Consolto provides the option for attendees to start meetings on demand, using the widget embedded on your website or on the Click'NTalk page if you don’t have a website or prefer not to use it.

You can learn more about Click'NTalk pages here.

Alternatively, you can also create temporary meeting room links where hosts and attendees can join group meetings. Read about how group meetings work in Consolto.

‍

Summing up

Despite the widespread use of video conferencing today, video meetings can still be frustrating due to technical issues, lack of engagement, or poor organization.

The video calling experience can be enhanced by following a few simple guidelines to prevent equipment glitches and participant disengagement. 

Opting for simpler technology solutions such as Consolto can also make it easier to organize, manage, and conduct video meetings.

Consolto replaces the suite of platforms used for scheduling, organizing, and storing video meetings with a single, simplified solution.

Give Consolto a free try today using our free trial.