However, it's reasonable to assume that many employees, clients, and business partners will still be working from home. Those back at work may still be limiting their in-person contacts.

This has made video meetings the new norm alongside legal practice management software and automation to conduct business. Those who connect through video can hold virtual face-to-face meetings between two people or an entire team. However, mastering video meetings is more challenging than it seems. To get a professional appearance, good sound quality, and minimise technical mishaps, it takes some knowledge.

Here is a compact and complete set of tips to master your video meetings.

Ensure Employees Have Quality Equipment

• Webcam
• Microphone
• Headphones
• Capable Computer
• High-Speed Internet

Many people and offices will already have the equipment and infrastructure needed for a video call, but not everyone. Make sure that each participant in your meeting has a quality webcam, along with a computer and internet connection fast enough to support streaming live video (up and down speeds).

For those with a quiet, private office, a computer microphone may be sufficient. Most people will benefit from quality headphones with a good built-in microphone. Take personal preference for headphones into account.

Prepare Each Office as a Personal Studio

• Quiet room
• Professional background
• Properly angled camera and lighting

Broadcasting good video in a virtual meeting requires clean audio and a professionally framed shot into each person's office. This means that each office becomes its own little video recording studio. White noise and background noise need to be eliminated. Awkward camera angles, bad lighting, and messy video backgrounds can also be neatly avoided by planning ahead. Help each employee or call participant build their office into a virtual meeting studio.

Eliminate noise. If noise can't be removed, use a headphone mic with a directional receiver so only their voice is picked up. Some software is available to clean audio as well.

Clean up and angle the background so that it looks professional. Blank walls, hanging art, curtained windows, and bookshelves are classic choices. Virtual backgrounds are also a solution.

Lastly, make sure the camera is angled in a professional and flattering way. A slightly raised angle, Behind and above your monitor, is more flattering than lower angles. Include the shoulders and some space above the head as well. Then place a softened light to eliminate shadows.

Work with IT to Cybersecure Meetings

• Encrypted connection
• Private and password-protected meetings
• Secure presentation & text data

There has been some concern about cybersecurity with the sudden push into virtual meetings. Zoom-bombing and other hacker activities can invade virtual meetings to cause disruption or conduct espionage. Work with your company's IT security team to ensure the software and methods you are using to connect are secured from unwanted intrusions.

Perform Technical Test-Calls Before Every Meeting

• Compatible software
• Connection latency
• Sound quality
• Video quality
• Presentation features

The final trick learned by experienced virtual meeting holders is to perform test-calls. Before a scheduled meeting, get in touch with your contact and do a technical rehearsal. Ensure that all involved computers can call each other and have an acceptable connection speed. Have each contact speak into their microphone to check sound quality and levels. Help anyone having camera trouble to set up and angle their frame. Then test things like screen share and slide shows to make sure they work properly.

This kind of test call may seem tedious but it ensures that your virtual meeting goes smoothly without any technical crashes. Don't get slowed down or derailed. Instead, deal with all potential technical problems ahead of time.

Mastering virtual meetings will take some practice, but you can get ahead of the game by learning the pro tips ahead of time. By preparing your space, working with IT, and doing test-calls before the meeting, you can effectively conduct remote business with those both in and out of the office. Contact us today for more helpful insights.