Audio and Web Conferencing Etiquette and Best Practices

As business’s travel budgets continue to shrink in today’s tough economic times, a growing number of companies come to find that audio conferencing and web conferencing are a cost efficient method of communicating and collaborating with those who are unable to meet in-person. Recent studies have indicated that over the next decade, conferencing services could amount to more than 10% of external travel, and an impressive 70% of internal travel. According to Bernstein Research, this could result in a collective 21% reduction of corporate travel.

When used effectively, conferencing services are a valuable tool that allows users to interact with all participants, permitting stronger involvement and communication. With that being said, however, virtual conferences also pose a few unique challenges. For instance, with a large number of participants it can be difficult determining who is speaking, let alone managing the meeting. Moreover, the growing number of devices as well as the combination of video and audio can render conference communication inconsistent across attendees. Thankfully, advancements in modern conferencing technologies help to combat many of these issues, such as PGi’s iMeet solution, which provides each participant with an individual cube that, when somebody talks, glows green.

Research has shown that 55% of communication is expressed via nonverbal clues, while 38% comes from the tone of our voice and only 7% from our words. So if you are relying on an audio-only conference, the collaboration and interpersonal dynamics that you would find in an in-person meeting are likely lost. What’s more is that creating a team structure and building trust is much more of a challenge when participants cannot see each other, and a lack of nonverbal clues leaves much room for misinterpretation.

To help eliminate these potential problems, we’ve compiled a list of best practices for your future audio and web conferences:

Prior to your conference

• Limit your total number of participants for easier meeting management
• Create and distribute a conference agenda to all participants that identifies your meeting goals
• Email copies of your presentation documents as a backup in the event of a technical problem

During your conference video

• Introduce all participants
• Establish rules for proper meeting etiquette, such as identifying yourself before speaking, using the mute button to eliminate distracting background noise, etc.
• Limit the length of your conference; the longer it is, the more likely your participants will lose focus and begin to multitask
• Realize that all of your participants might not have the advantage of seeing your nonverbal clues, so to avoid a misunderstanding, your content and tone of voice should be carefully chosen

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