The connection keeps dropping, the virtual background suddenly disappears, the PC reboots itself and the screen share option obstinately refuses to come on. Well, all of these are common problems and you are not alone in experiencing them. The technical issue is not your fault, surely you don’t hold up the signal wire or decide the moods of the virtual background, but you still do have control of the situation. Here is how to steer dire situations of online meetings in to serene waters of dignified etiquette.
01. Do Your Homework
If this is your first time or even if it is not, do a dry run with a friend or colleague. Check whether the interface has changed or whether there are new options you need to be familiar with. Run your presentation from end to end to see whether it works seamlessly.
Check whether you have a sufficient quota of data, whether your speaker and camera work, whether there is enough lighting for others to see you and whether your clothes are ready for the camera.
02. Join Early and Test
Have the technical assistant or a trusted colleague join the call about 15 minutes ahead to go through the options one last time. Allow guests in to the call, only after all the testing is done and you are confident to go live. However, guests should not be left in the virtual lobby beyond the time of commencement of the meeting.
03. Be Upfront About It
In spite of all the testing, the dry runs and the planning, any one or multiples of these can go wrong. The best thing is to be honest about it.
Be confident and smart as you say ‘I seem to be experiencing a technical difficulty, though I tested all of this earlier, let me speak to our expert and sort this out soon. Please give me a few minutes. I am sorry about the delay’.
04. Have a Help Desk Officer at Hand
Depending on how important the meeting or presentation is, I would recommend that you speak to your IT team and have a dedicated person at hand at least for the first fifteen minutes of the meeting to ensure that things are going well. If the meeting is not confidential per say, have the tech whiz join the meeting and ensure that nothing is amiss.
Basically, tech support should be one call away and that should not take more than three to four minutes. Even if s/he is unable to solve the problem in a few minutes, it should be obvious that someone competent is attending to the matter.
05. Have a Plan B, Maybe Even a C
Just in case things do not go right, suppose you have a power failure, a telephone line breakdown or something beyond your control, the meeting must still go on.
The best way would be to have a Plan B and C depending on how crucial the meeting is. Have the slides sent to a colleague, keep a dongle at hand, charge your laptop so that there is battery power for a few hours, share your notes with your boss/ junior who can takeover if necessary.
06. Send an Apology Mail
Once you sort out the tech issues and resume the call, apologise for the lost time and inconvenience. If you feel that it could have particularly harmed your reputation or that of your organisation, send an email or a short message to all attendees, apologising for the incident. It can be simple and short such as follows:
I profoundly apologise for the technical mishap that we experienced earlier today during the meeting. Unfortunately, it was beyond our control, though we had tested all the equipment and software. I appreciate your kind understanding and patience in this regard.
One can only prep and hope for the best – but the important point is to handle the situation with poise and professionalism. If you have worse technical fears than we have covered above, please write to us at fullofetiquette@gmail.com and we will help you out.
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