Up your team’s Zoom game: How to optimize your video meetings for success!

Similar to the speed at which working from home became the new business norm, video conference meetings have ramped up dramatically. How have your presentation skills translated to this new online-only world?

Here are some basic tips that will lead your team to success when hosting a video conference meeting.

Practice, Practice, Practice

Whether you’re using Zoom, WebEx, Google Meet, GoToMeeting, Microsoft Teams, Slack or another product that supports video conferencing and screen sharing, it’s important that you develop a comfort level with your platform to ensure a smooth and hassle free meeting experience.

And don’t forget to rehearse! You may be more reliant on verbal communication in these meetings, think about your tone, pauses and even transitions between participants – as well as reactions and facial expressions during your meeting. (How cool can you play it if your child suddenly burst into the room, or your dog starts chewing on the carpet?)

Optimize Your On-screen Slides

Trade-in your regular go-to sales deck filled with overflowing pages of content, animated text and videos for a concise and simplified deck.

Ensure that the text size is optimized for screen sharing. Replace columns of content with bold headlines and imagery. Ensure that your on-screen text has enough contrast so that it promotes legibility instead of eye squints.

Ditch the Embedded Videos:

While today’s video conferencing platforms are much better at displaying video content, the technology still isn’t perfect. Be cautious about getting sidetracked by potential technical glitches by foregoing the use of embedded video content or transitions in your presentations.

Are the one or two videos in your presentation absolutely necessary? Why not share them as a follow-up or include them as part of the invitation so you don’t have to worry about streaming issues potentially derailing your meeting?

Make it Interactive:

Be aware that screen-fatigue will affect your video meeting participants much more than it would in a normal meeting setting. Make a conscience effort to reduce the number of slides you may regularly show in an in-person meeting, and keep the amount of text that the participants need to read on each slide to a reasonable length. This will help ensure that your audience stays engaged, and will help keep the meeting to your scheduled length.

Be Concise:

Be aware that screen-fatigue will affect your video meeting participants much more than it would in a normal meeting setting. Make a conscience effort to reduce the number of slides you may regularly show in an in-person meeting, and keep the amount of text that the participants need to read on each slide to a reasonable length. This will help ensure that your audience stays engaged, and will help keep the meeting to your scheduled length.

Virtual Backdrops:

With the new advances in online video technology also come the ability to use virtual backdrops. While this can be a fun addition to internal team meetings or virtual social events with friends and family, consider setting a more professional tone for client meetings by creating a branded corporate backdrop. (Head’s up, not all video conference software supports virtual backgrounds. Zoom does – Happy Zooming!)

Need help preparing for your next video conference meeting?
Our seasoned team of Marketing and Design experts are just a video call away to help you prepare for video conference success!

Harbinger is a Toronto-based North American marketing agency with expertise in product launches. We help brands get noticed and purchased.