10 Etiquette Rules for Teleconferences

In 2011 I wrote a post on this blog called 10 etiquette rules for using email. My motivation was the frustration I feel at the way many people use email, without common sense or judgement and, one could even argue, without respect—for instance, when they send a mass message exposing the email addresses of all the people included in it.

Now it is time to establish some etiquette rules for teleconferences, one of the most frustrating forms of interaction, whose use—and the frustration they cause—has expanded in the context of lockdown (I am writing this post amid the great pandemic of 2020). They are very obvious, very logical things, yet most people still do not take them into account. If you read these etiquette rules and realise you do not follow one of them, do not be afraid: there is still time to correct your conduct. If you know someone who does not follow them, be a good friend and share this information with them. Better yet, every time you schedule a teleconference, send these rules to your coworkers, friends, or relatives, so that interacting at a distance may be more pleasant and productive.

1. Preparation

For some reason, every time I begin a teleconference I get the impression that the attendees, who have known about the event days in advance, have been caught by surprise, abruptly torn from their many activities and thrown in front of a computer without explanation to begin a call of which they apparently know nothing and whose subjects are unknown to them; besides, of course, having no idea about the technology involved or how their own computer works. All this is avoided with preparation. If you are going to have a teleconference, please prepare yourself so that you are ready when it begins; do not start turning on the computer at the time of the call or trying to find out why your microphone or speakers do not work. “What do I need to prepare?” you ask, bewildered. Well, since you have no idea about the obvious things one should have ready, here are some suggestions:

Make sure your computer is on and connected to the internet (yes, you need to be connected to the internet). Make sure you have the link to join the teleconference and, if necessary, the required application. Test that your camera, microphone, and speakers work. Most applications provide a way to test this; otherwise, open an application such as FaceTime and test it yourself. Have everything you will need at hand: files on your computer, open browser tabs, your notes, a glass of water, whatever it may be. Go to the bathroom beforehand. If you are not alone, please tell the people with you that you will be having a teleconference and do not want to be interrupted; and, whether you believe it or not, every sound and voice near you can be heard, and everyone taking part in the teleconference will be listening to them. Find an appropriate place for the call: a closed room, an isolated spot, or wherever there is neither noise nor distraction.

You should prepare all this at least ten minutes before the call begins, so that you can start on time and without problems. Some things, such as making sure you have the access link, should be settled much earlier.

2. Choose the right device

It has happened to all of us: an attendee at the teleconference decides that connecting from their mobile phone is a good idea. If it is a work call, why would you choose to connect from your personal device rather than the one you use for work, where your files, calendar, and everything else are? When someone shares their screen to present a document or demonstrate something, these people who amusingly thought it was a good idea to connect from their phone discover in horror that they cannot see anything. At times, they even have the notion of expressing their annoyance that they cannot see what the rest of us, connected from our computers, are discussing.

3. Punctuality

What excuse is there for being late to a teleconference? Traffic? Couldn’t you find parking? Did the receptionist not grant you access to your own office or house? You were surely late because you did not comply with point 1 (Preparation), or simply because you are careless (also related to point 1) or irresponsible; and all of us, all of us participating in the call know that at best you are careless and at worst irresponsible.

4. Using the camera

There is a saying that goes, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” If you join a teleconference and the other people are using their cameras, you have to use yours; it is a matter of respect. It is unacceptable for the rest of us to show our faces while you remain hidden in a corner like a voyeur. Likewise, if nobody is using a camera, do not be the only person with one on and subject us to looking only at your face for the whole duration of the call.

Camera or no camera? That is the dilemma. Logically, using a camera is better because it provides more complete information: the participants are not limited to hearing only a voice from the other side of the computer; we can see when someone speaks and receive information through their body language. On the other hand, if there is not a good internet connection, using the camera will only hinder communication.

5. How to present

If you are going to present something on screen, it would be logical for you to have the file or whatever you are going to show ready and to be prepared to begin sharing your screen; this should have been done during preparation. It is a good idea to show only the screen or window relevant to the group, or to keep your screen free of things that are of no interest to others or that you do not want to show.

It is important to remember that there is a slight delay when you transmit your screen, so you must make pauses or allow enough time for everyone to see and understand what you are presenting. For example, if you say “here” while placing your cursor somewhere to show something, it would be useful from the outset to say “here, where my cursor is” (because “here” alone has many interpretations) and move it a little so its position is easy to distinguish. But you must also wait a few seconds for everyone to have time to see it. If you say “here, where my cursor is” and immediately move it elsewhere, the audio of your voice and what is seen on screen may not be synchronised, and you will cause confusion.

Make sure everyone is following you throughout the presentation. Every few minutes ask whether everyone was able to see what you presented or whether there are questions, because through the camera it is hard to determine whether everyone was able to see and understand everything you showed.

Something important to bear in mind is that everyone will take part in the teleconference using different computers and different screen sizes. You must take this into account because when you present your screen, the other participants will see it at a scale adapted to their screens’ size. Suppose you are presenting on a 27-inch screen. If another participant is using a 13-inch screen, all the information on your large screen will appear compressed onto their small screen; in other words, each visual element will be roughly a quarter of the size at which you see it. Thus, lettering that is legible to you will be a quarter of the size for that person and will be illegible. How can this be solved? I recommend never presenting your entire screen, but rather a specific window—all the applications I know, and there are many, allow this option—and making that window a size you consider equivalent to a laptop’s screen. Following the previous example, if your screen is 27 inches, present a window that occupies roughly a quarter of it, which for someone on a 13-inch screen will represent approximately the full size of their screen.

6. Silence

I do not think it is difficult to understand that, for one person to speak, the others must be quiet, right? And we know—we mentioned it in point one—that if there is noise where you are, we can all hear it: the other people with you, your children, your dogs, the gas truck passing outside your house, the man selling tamales and shouting in the street, the neighbour scolding her stupid child, that television on in the background, the sound of your keyboard or the click of your mouse because you are doing something instead of paying attention, your yawns, and so on. So why don’t you mute your microphone? In any teleconference, the standard is to remain muted at all times, and when you need to speak, you unmute, speak, and mute it again. Once more, because I know it is not clear to everyone: the standard is to remain muted at all times, and when you need to speak, you unmute, speak, and mute it again. And mute it again. And mute it again.

There is also always the person or people who are asked something and give no answer, are asked again, and there is another long silence, after which they answer, “Oh, it’s because I was muted.” Truly, operating one of these platforms is not as complicated as launching a satellite into space. If you put your mind to it, you—yes, even you—are capable of operating the mute button.

7. Do not speak over other people

This surely requires no explanation, does it?

8. Pay attention

When others are speaking and/or presenting, please pay attention. We know there are many distractions; we know you want to listen to the gossip about the neighbour scolding her child, or find out what flavour the tamales are that the man passing down your street is selling, but you are in the teleconference to pay attention to what is being said. There have been countless times when I explain something in a teleconference and someone calls or writes to me the next day to ask the very thing I explained.

9. Use the internet only for the teleconference

It is unjustifiable that nowadays there are people with slow internet connections. In fact, it is incredible that internet-service packages with different speeds exist when the logical thing would be for there to be just one speed: the highest possible speed. Yet we all have that coworker, client, or supplier who still has one of those internet packages from fifteen years ago, with speeds barely sufficient to see images. It is to those people that I address this point. While you are in the teleconference, there can be no other use of your internet, because you have so little that it will not be enough. You cannot watch YouTube videos, download music, or do anything other than the teleconference. Your husband cannot be watching Netflix, your daughter cannot be uploading her Instagram stories, and your smart washing machine cannot be connecting to the internet to download a software update. You must use every little bit of internet you have solely for the teleconference; that is the life you chose with that internet package.

10. Like meetings, teleconferences are often unnecessary

I believe that more than half of the teleconferences I take part in could have been avoided. Sending an email, a message, or even making a call between only two people would have been enough. Schedule a teleconference only when necessary. “How can you know it is necessary?” you ask. Here are some criteria:

• It is not a matter between two people, but among a group of people who must interact.
• It is necessary to present something on screen.
• The matter is so complex that writing it in an email would take more than an hour; therefore, it is productive to spend an hour in a teleconference.
• The participation and feedback of the whole group are needed.

If what you need to discuss does not meet these criteria, do yourself and everyone else a favour: do not schedule a teleconference.