10 Essential Video Conferencing Etiquette Tips

Remote work and globally distributed teams have made video calls a modern workplace staple. If you’ve ever felt awkward on a video call, you aren’t alone—the format takes some getting used to. This is why we’ve put together an essential list of etiquette tips to help you become a video-call pro in no time.

Essential tips for video conferences:

1. Be on time
2. Prep your camera
3. Choose an easy-to-use platform
4. Do a tech check beforehand
5. Make virtual eye contact
6. Close unrelated tabs before screen sharing
7. Mute your mic when you’re not speaking
8. Dress appropriately
9. Choose the right venue
10. Remove potential distractions
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1. Be on time

Punctuality is just as important in a virtual meeting as it is when gathering face-to-face. If you're hosting a meeting, this is one of the most important video call manners to remember. If you’re late to start the meeting, then your attendees may be met with a blank screen and wonder if they missed a schedule change.

Make time in your schedule to launch the meeting a few minutes before it’s scheduled to begin. You can use this time to:

• Troubleshoot any last-minute technical issues
• Prepare links to documents the group will need to access during the call
• Double-check your meeting and waiting room settings

If you’re running late, be sure to message your team and let them know when they can expect you.

2. Prep your camera

The default position of your smartphone or computer camera isn’t always the best one. Too high and you risk your head being out of frame. Too low and fellow attendees may be left awkwardly staring up your nostrils.

Taking some time to prep your camera frame before your call can help you have a polished and professional presence. Position your camera so it feels natural for you to look at it and lets other attendees see your entire face.

It’s a good idea to:

• Stabilize your device on a flat surface
• Use a riser to bring your device or webcam up to eye level, if necessary
• Secure your device with a stationary holder or tripod, if calling from a phone or tablet
• Position yourself in the center of the frame
• Look at the camera while speaking
• Position the camera in a well-lit room, ideally with plenty of natural light in front of or alongside you

You may especially want to be mindful of what’s in the background of your camera frame.

• Tidy up behind you or turn on the blurred background setting
• Consider positioning yourself in front of a wall or a bookshelf
• Keep pets or family members out of the frame
• Use a virtual background if your background may be too distracting during a call.

3. Choose an easy-to-use platform

Whether you’re having a 1:1 meeting or hosting a video conference for a larger audience, always choose a platform that’s easy and intuitive for your attendees to use. When possible, choose popular platforms that attendees likely have access to already, like Google Meet, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams.

The right video conferencing software makes the call experience smooth and hassle-free. Look for platforms that don’t require attendees to pay for a subscription, download a large program, or spend a lot of time setting up.

You may want to see if the platforms you and your attendees already use have video conferencing tools built in. If you’re on the Upwork platform for example, you can schedule and start a Zoom call directly from Upwork Messages—no calendar invites or email chains required. You can start an audio call, too, without using a webcam.

4. Do a tech check beforehand

Occasional technical problems are an inevitable part of the modern workplace. This is especially true when working remotely. Problems with technology can quickly delay or derail a meeting, so you’ll want to make sure your video conferencing technology is working properly before you sign in to a meeting.

MAC USERS: When using Google Meet, you may need to grant Chrome security permissions ahead of time to share your screen during a video call.

Run through this checklist before every video call:

• Check your software
• Test your headset and mic quality
• Check the speed and stability of your internet connection
• Confirm your camera is working
• Run a video and audio quality test
• If you need any apps for your call, make sure everything is up and running

5. Make virtual eye contact

Making eye contact is an important part of how we communicate. This is just as true for video chats as it is for in-person communication. From the main presentation to the chat box, there’s a lot going on during a video call and it may feel hard to make eye contact. These tactics can help:

• Look directly into the camera lens while you’re speaking, not at the screen
• Don’t look at your own frame within the video call
• Place something above your webcam (like a Post-It) to remind you where to look
• Set your video calling program to display the main speaker prominently in a larger box than other attendees
• When using multiple monitors, be sure to look into the camera that meeting attendees see

6. Close unrelated tabs before screen sharing

Screen sharing is a huge help when it comes to collaborating online during remote work. This is especially true when walking people through a spreadsheet or large multipage document.

On the flip side, you don’t want to share too much! Not only could it be embarrassing to reveal your social media tabs and email conversations during a screen share, but it’s also a potential security liability. You could accidentally expose sensitive information to a client or another third party. In order to be a screen-sharing pro, remember to:

• Confirm with meeting participants that they can see your screen
• Close all tabs, windows, and apps that are not relevant to the conversation
• Move at a slightly slower pace and be aware of the potential for lag on your colleagues’ screens
• Turn off all notifications and close out all mobile apps that may send notifications onto your screen during the call

While screen sharing helps to mimic in-person presentations, it can be distracting if enabled for too long. To practice good video conference etiquette, you can:

• Pause screen sharing if there’s a need for extended discussion during a presentation
• Stop sharing your screen as soon as you finish a presentation—you can always restart it

7. Mute your mic when you’re not speaking

The common courtesy is to keep the mute button on when you aren’t speaking on a video conference call. You can:

• Set up your video calling software of choice to automatically mute you when a new meeting starts (and if you're hosting, set up the meeting link so it mutes all participants)
• Familiarize yourself with any mouse or keyboard shortcuts to quickly unmute yourself during a call
• Use a physical microphone or mute button with a switch you can toggle when it’s your turn to talk

Microphones can still pick up minor background noises even when you think you’re being silent. Your neighbor could suddenly decide to start mowing their lawn or someone in your house might ask you a question without realizing you’re on a call. This kind of background noise can be distracting to other attendees and make it difficult to hear the person who’s speaking.

In addition to muting yourself, try to do one or more of the following to reduce the likelihood of background noise:

• Call from a room with a door that shuts
• Remind people in your home that you’ll be on a call and need to minimize distractions
• If possible, don’t schedule calls on days when you know there will be construction or road work nearby
• Use headphones with a microphone to help isolate your voice

8. Dress appropriately

The rules of work-appropriate attire have considerably relaxed because of remote work. However, this doesn’t mean you should abandon all attempts at dressing professionally.

Your choice of outfit can definitely influence others’ perception of you. So if you’re trying to impress a potential client or want your team to take you seriously, make sure to dress the part.

While there may not be a need for corporate wear, you don’t want to become too casual and show up in athleisure, either. Read the room and dress in clothes that you would choose if the meeting were in person.

• Avoid clothes with controversial messaging
• If the outfit is wrinkled or stained, change
• Take off any jewelry that may be noisy or distracting
• Check your appearance in the mirror (or in the camera preview) before your meeting starts

And of course, the beauty of attending a call remotely is that your fellow attendees can usually only see your head and shoulders in the frame. So make like a remote worker and leave those sweatpants on (if you like) but make sure to throw on a nice shirt before you hop on your next call.

9. Choose the right venue

The joys of remote work mean that you can take your meeting from home, from your car, or even during your daily walk around the block. But use discretion.

While walking around during a video chat may be OK at times, there may be occasions where too much movement during your call may be disorienting for other attendees. Plus, if you’re the one leading the call or presenting, moving around can actually create quite a bit of background noise as well.

Some of your more serious meetings—especially if you’re the host—may be more appropriate to attend from your workspace. At the very least, try to be stationary so as not to be too distracting for your call attendees.

10. Remove potential distractions

When you’re in the middle of a busy workday, you might be tempted to try to do other work during a video call. Unfortunately, we humans aren’t quite as good at multitasking as we think. (According to the Cleveland Clinic, only 2.5% of people are actually able to multitask.)

Attempting to multitask can lead to stress and reduced focus. When a participant isn’t fully paying attention to a call, it can also be very distracting to your fellow attendees. It’s considered best practice to:

• Close out of other work windows and apps during a call
• Mute notifications on your computer
• Put your cell phone on silent or in do not disturb mode
• Resist the temptation to check your social media while on the call
• Maintain eye contact with your attendees as much as possible, especially if it’s a 1:1 call
• Let people in your home know when you’re on a call, so they know not to interrupt you

The chat function can be a useful tool during video calls, but only when used appropriately and sparingly. Being engaged in text chat continuously can be distracting to yourself and others. Try to keep your chat function use limited to:

• Sharing links to documents that everyone needs to see, like the meeting agenda
• Responding to questions asked by the presenter
• Discussion of professional topics—the video call host may be able to see (and save) everything said in the chat

Above all, be patient and kind

The most important etiquette advice we can give you is to be patient and reassuring with your meeting attendees. People may struggle with the technology or find it awkward to express themselves via video. Your kindness will go a long way toward making your remote team members feel comfortable and supported.

Ultimately, the etiquette of video conferencing isn’t too far off from that of conducting an in-person meeting. Getting used to the ins and outs of video conferencing is a skill you can acquire. Always remember to give yourself plenty of time to become familiar with new video conferencing apps, precheck your setup, and be professional.

And no matter what, know that it’s OK if your video conference doesn’t go as planned. Your cat may run across your keyboard, someone may ring the doorbell, or you may need a break from being on camera. Whatever the reason, remember to be patient and kind to yourself too.

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