Video conferencing is becoming incredibly popular and now that business grade telepresence has moved to mobile phone, Android and iPhone devices, there’s certain rules of etiquette that should be adhered to as well as best practices. In a formal conference room you don’t forget people are around you the way mobile phone users do. So here are our top 10 tips for mobile video conferencing while your on the go:
- Make sure you learn the technology that you’re using. You need to be able to perform tasks like multiparty mobile conference calling, how to share content effectively so there are “no little surprises” of personal images as well as putting the mobile video conference on hold so they can’t see what you’re doing.
- Know how-to use the abundance of multi-touch gestures, drag and drop, etc so you can enhance your mobile video conferencing experience.
- Learn about layout options and make damn sure you’re confident in using the self-view so you can see what the rest of the participants are looking at. Think of a newsreader wearing board shorts under the table! .
- Make sure you clearly understand that the experience varies between a smartphone and a tablet and if you have both devices at your disposal make sure you use the best dives for your specific needs.
- Take advantage of a mobile device stand to ensure that your image doesn’t look like it’s in a tumble dryer.
- Mute yourself when not speaking, and we suggest the use of a headset or Bluetooth audio device to deliver the optimal audio with noise cancelling properties. Also make sure you “mute” your camera when you’re out and about and not on a mobile video conference.
- Ensure the room is well lit and avoid backlighting, as it will make you appear dark to those on the far end. You’ll look like a terrorist delivering a warning if you don’t and it won’t be presenting your best image.
- Choose a video conferencing solution like the Radvision Scopia that is intelligent enough to replicate human interaction most effectively. This means that it won’t keep a person at the centre of the presentation when they’re not talking but will move them to the centre when they start to talk for a defined amount of time. Without this you end up looking at people that aren’t talking or the screen constantly bouncing between users which is very distracting.
- Normal etiquette still applies. This means, unless you won the company and don’t care, you shouldn’t be eating, checking email, having side conversation that all participants can hear, picking your nose, scratching yourself and anything else you don’t want people to experience.
- Make being mobile really work for you and cut unnecessary trips back to the office which are time consuming and expensive.
The world of mobile phone video conferencing is exciting and incredibly effective. Make sure you just forget that you may be by yourself but all participants can see exactly what you’re doing in beautiful HD quality!
For more information about Mobile Video Conferencing and general video conferencing and telepresence speak to one of our experts today.
