Zoom Meeting Etiquette
by Patti Wood
Author of SNAP Making the Most of First Impressions Body Language
and Charisma
We know that the host's send out the zoom meeting link, but it
should include more than just the link.
State the purpose of the call -- In one sentence say what you expect from the meeting. “Today we will….” If you wish you can follow that with the three main agenda items and outcomes you expect.
Send an
Agenda and Questions before the meeting – Some employees love to
prepare ahead of time so if you send people and agenda that highlight
specifically, what you’re looking for such as. “I will go around and ask each
of you to tell me what you need for the next step in the JK4 authorization
change.”
Send Names Titles and Ideally a Photo -- If
there is anyone new on the call you should also include the first and last
names of everyone on the call and their title and responsibility related to the
topics being discussed in the meeting. You may want to get permission to go
further and send a link to their LinkedIn page.
Even if the names are
displayed on the call by that persons box its helpful for them to have that
information before they get on the call. You can be creative and ask permission
to take a photo of your main team on a zoom call and send that photo to the new
attendee. Your goal with good etiquette is to make everyone feel comfortable as
soon as possible and ease their way into rapport and effective communication
and work output on the call. This is particularly important if you are having a
new prospect join a call or you are inviting a high-level executive join your
meeting. Make it new Zoom etiquette to send the new persons photos with their
job title and ideally something about them.
Help People with New
Technology -- If a new person is coming on the call and they aren’t
familiar with Zoom or the platform they will be using the host should make sure
each person knows how to use zoom before the call. They can send a how-to video
and or do a dry run with the new member of the meeting and or assign someone
else the task for making sure new members are comfortable with the technology.
Make sure as the host you have the cell phone number of the new Zoom call
member or members and you check in with them privately on a chat during the
call. I suggest if you are the host and will be too busy to handhold during the
meeting you assign someone to check in with the new member via private chat
room or text during the call.
The host should be
first on and last off the zoom meeting. If for any reason they need to arrive
late or leave early they should arrange ahead to give the host/meeting leader
responsibilities to someone else. Think of being there as people get on as
being at the door to take everyone’s coats and offering refreshments, instead
of people standing out in the rain and ringing the doorbell and not being able
to get in.
The host should be
there early on the call so they can make people feel welcome and overcome that
awkward silence that otherwise meeting members may feel when they are not sure
they are in the correct meeting or that their technology is working.
May I introduce...? The
proper etiquette, rules, tips and guidelines for making introductions.
Using the proper introductions help to establish rapport when meeting people.
Yes, they are not always easy, but they are important. And knowing how to
introduce people to one another can make you not only more comfortable it can
make other people feel more comfortable and make you look more confident!
In a very formal
setting, you would say, “I would like to present to you....” Otherwise, it is
fine to say, “I would like to introduce you to...” or less formally, Mrs. Garmen,
Mrs. Tolbight,”
or more informally say Mrs. Jones, you know Mrs. Robinson, don’t you?” Or Sarah
have you met Molly. Or Julie do you know my Mother?
In business at formal business, zoom meetings introduce individuals to each
other using both first and last names. If you are in a casual zoom meeting it
is fine to use first names. "Jim, I'd like you to meet my neighbor,
Sarah." Or, very casually, "Sarah, Jim.", "Jim,
Sarah".
Whose name do you say first? Though even Miss Manner and Emily Post disagree on
whose name comes first I believe you should honor the highest person by saying
their name first. So, think authority defines whose name is said first. Say the
name of the most important person first and then the name of the person being
introduced.
Introduce people in the following order:
· Younger to older, “Mrs. Hopkins I would like you to meet my little sister
Mary Jones.”
· non-official to the official,”Mr. President I would like you to present to
you Mr. John Brown.”
· junior executive to senior executive, ”Mr. Iacocca I would like you to
present you to our new junior executive Mr. Sam Horn”
· Colleague to the customer, “Mrs. Hawthorne (The customer) I would like to
introduce you to my college Mr. Mike Frank.”
· 2 year employee to ten-year employee. Sam Coke I would like you to meet John
Hordin.
A customer Mr Camp visiting a zoom meeting. Mr. Smith is the CEO. Mr.Camp
I would like you to meet our CEO Mr. Mike Smith. There are also choices to
make. Let’s say that you are introducing people to a speaker that’s formally
presenting a speech on the zoom call and not everyone knows the name of the
speaker. You could either say. MS Patti Wood I like you to meet my teammate Mr.
Mike Stewart. Mr. Stewart (or just plain Mike) I would like you to meet our
speaker today Patti Wood or you could say the lower status person’s name first Frank
Smith I would like to introduce you to our speaker Dr. James Nelson. Dr. Nelson
this is Frank Smith he has been at the Atlanta Training office of UKS for two
years. He works with Jennie Waddington. It is OK if you mess up the
order. No small children were harmed, just keep going.
If you're in a formal zoom meeting introduce someone who has a title’s doctor,
for example,’ include the title as well as the first and last names in the
introduction. Use proper titles. Don't introduce your parents as 'Mom' or 'Dad'
unless that is how they would like to be addressed. You can say, “I would like
you to meet my mother, Ms. Jones.
If the person you are introducing has a specific relationship to you, make the
relationship clear by adding a phrase such as 'my boss,' 'my wife' or 'my
uncle.' In the case of unmarried couples who are living together, 'companion'
and 'partner' are good choices.
Use your spouse's first and last name if he or she has a different last name
than you. Include the phrase 'my wife' or 'my husband.' Mr. Jones I would like
you to meet my husband Eric Mann.
Introduce an individual to the group first, then the group to the individual.
For example: 'Dr. Noble, I'd like you to meet my friends Hassan Jubar, Kim
Nordeck and Michael Smith. Everyone, this is Dr. Mark Noble.'
Give them something to talk about once you have introduced them, preferably
something they have in common. For example:” Sara this is Paul." “Paul,
Sara is the biggest Baseball fan I have ever met" Now you have them a conversation
starter. If you need to go, once they get a bit of a conversation going you can
excuse yourself politely
Introducing
people by recognizing talent and giving praise is an important part of being a
good leader, team member, and friend. And showing great respect In my book,
"People Savvy Leadership," I give the following tips:
When
you focus on other’s accomplishments and notice what is worthy of praise, your
energy is lifted, and you build successful interactions.
A
simple way to give praise is with an introduction. For example, when you
introduce your friends, coworkers, and business associates to someone new,
share their name and an accomplishment. "Jim, this is Sara Beckman, she
just headed up the committee for our new quarter sales meeting and it was
fantastic." "Tom, this is Morgan Tyler, she just spearheaded the new
marketing project." "Karl, this is Veronica Mann, she works with our
top client Prudential." Or “Pam, this is my dear friend Karla, we have known each other
since we were kids and she has the best sense of humor” “Karla this is my
co-worker Pam, she has designed our new social media platform to rave reviews
from the team or “Mark this is my colleague Jim, Jim he is our go-to expert on
customer loyalty, he really knows his stuff.” Jim, this is my friend Mark, Mark
and I met at Top Golf benefit he was in charge of last year and it was a huge
success and did us proud.”
If you are introduced
to someone respond. You don’t have to say, “Nice to meet you.” It is a polite
response, but you may not be sure yet if it will be nice. You don’t have to
say, “It is a pleasure to meet you unless it is a pleasure. You do have to say
something. You should repeat the person's name back; In a formal setting saying
"Hi" or " Hello" is not enough. Instead, say, “Hello”
"Do you prefer being called David or should I call you Dave?"
The Host Sets the Rules -The host ideally makes sure each member
knows how to dress and has the appropriate “background” for the call, follows
security measures.
The host should
know how to follow security measures, allow guests in and know how to mute, or
deal with video issues.
The host should give a
final thought, goal, motivational
statement, story, or a bit of humor to formally end the zoom call and thank
people for attending, give special individual thanks for important
contributions to the call. Tell the group you will stay after for further
questions and visiting time and will be the last to leave the call and ideally,
if you can bid each individual off the call so there is not a haphazard
clicking off at the end and people don’t know when to say goodbye.
