Virtual meetings, whether you love them or hate them, are here to stay – even if your company has a return to office (RTO) mandate. They’re your chance to shine, build your personal brand, connect with the decision-makers, and grow your network. Clearly, virtual meetings just aren’t as exciting as in-person ones. They come with their own set of challenges and frustrations, many of which can make you look more amateur than ace.
To Grow Your Personal Brand, Avoid Doing These Things In Virtual Meetings
Meetings and presentations have always been among the most important work activities for influencing others and building your personal brand. When you master presentations skills, people pay attention. Despite being less visceral, meetings that take place in the Zoom room can provide the same benefits. Here are nine things you should never do during virtual meetings or virtual presentations so you can make your mark and stand out for all the right reasons.
1. Show Up Late
Virtual meetings don’t leave room for excuses like, “I got stuck in traffic” or “I couldn’t find the conference room.” Everyone knows you just clicked “end call” in your previous Zoom meeting. When you’re late, you’re basically saying, “This meeting isn’t that important to me.” Show up on time to prove you’re engaged and ready. Clicking “join meeting” a few minutes early gives you extra time to engage in casual chit chat with colleagues, helping nurture relationships.
2. Leave Your Camera Off
Keeping your camera off screams, “I’m not really here.” Sure, you might claim “bandwidth issues,” but let’s be real—people are skeptical. Meetings provide an opportunity to grow and nurture your network so you can expand your personal brand. Networking is integral to the personal branding process. Turning on your camera builds trust and connection, making your presence felt even in a virtual room. Plus, it’s harder to sneakily send text messages or snack on chips when your camera is on.
3. Ignore the Importance of Your Background
When you are in a virtual meeting, what’s behind you sends a message–whether you’re speaking or not. Make sure your background reinforces how you want to be known. Some people opt for a virtual background which only works well if you have a green screen. A floating ear. A disappearing coffee cup. If your virtual background looks like a bad sci-fi movie, it’s because you need a green screen. Without one, your virtual background becomes a meeting distraction. Green screens are inexpensive, and many fold up so they can be out of the way during those rare times when you’re not in an online meeting.
4. Forget to Mute
Nothing says amateur hour like background chaos during a virtual meeting. Barking dogs, clanking dishes, or sirens from emergency vehicles can derail the flow and make you the star of the show–not in a good way. When you’re not speaking, get in the habit of putting your mic on mute and spare your team the distracting soundtrack of your life. Of course, don’t forget to click unmute before you speak so you don’t look like you’ve learned nothing since 2020.
5. Wing It
Preparation is key, whether you’re in a boardroom or your living room. Skipping the pre-work or showing up without a plan makes you look unprofessional. Before the meeting, review the agenda, jot down the contributions you want to make, and show up ready to impress. Many people don’t take virtual meetings seriously. When you do, you’ll stand out. Also, prepare for unexpected meeting moments to demonstrate how you cool you are under pressure.
6. Disregard Wardrobe and Hygiene
Rolling out of bed and hopping on Zoom without so much as brushing your hair isn’t a great look. While no one expects red carpet glam (unless you’re working at Vogue or Gucci), looking polished says, “I’m here and I take this seriously.” When you dress for a virtual meeting, you send a positive signal and increase your confidence. According to psychologist Henry Bantjez, “We process visual details very quickly through a process called thin-slicing. That’s when the brain makes millisecond judgements based on new stimuli. Before you switch that camera on, make sure you are not only well prepared for the meeting, but also well-dressed which will raise your confidence levels.”
7. Talk Over Everyone
Virtual meetings are a delicate dance of muting, unmuting, and timing your contributions. Interrupting or talking over others makes you seem disrespectful and impatient. Wait for your moment, acknowledge other speakers, and use phrases like, “Building on what Chanda said…” to seamlessly join the conversation. People will see how skilled you are at communication and demonstrating the skills of authentic leadership.
5. Multitask Like a Pro (or So You Think)
We all think we’re multitasking masters, but the truth is, our brains are just task switching—and poorly at that. Scrolling through emails or checking Slack while in a meeting ensures you’ll miss key points and seem disengaged. Instead, give the meeting your full attention and stay present (as hard as that might be). The emails will still be there when the meeting ends. One way to remain attentive is to keep your camera on for the entire meeting (item #2 above).
9. Share Tiny, Unreadable Text
Sharing your screen to display microscopic spreadsheets or walls of text is a surefire way to lose your audience. If your slide deck has more words than the book War and Peace, rethink your approach. Send detailed documents beforehand and have links handy to make it easy for people to find the documents you are referencing. Then, use your screen share for images and videos that add value—not squint-worthy headaches. And two words about bullets: Banish them.
Virtual Meetings And Presentations Are Your Time To Shine
Virtual meetings might feel casual, but they’re still a stage where your personal brand is on full display. When you treat them as important career boosters, you’ll impress others and get noticed. To make that happen, avoid these nine pitfalls. Then, you’ll stand out for the right reasons and prove that you’re a poised, polished, professional team player.
Forbes