It’s crazy to think we are now in our 6th month of working remotely and what seemed like a temporary solution, for many office workers is becoming the new normal. Pre-COVID there were already some companies that allowed for remote work (Hype! is one of them) but once CV-19 hit, companies were forced to further embrace remote work. That’s where video conferencing apps like Zoom and Google Hangouts really hit their stride and became crucial business tools for daily remote work. Families and friends were even using Zoom to host happy hours and virtual birthday parties!

Now that we are starting to see light at the end of the tunnel and events are starting up again, we are using these video conferencing tools in a new way! Pre-COVID, a majority of the time training calls were simply a dial-in where staff would be responsible for following along the PDF manual. We had all learned the common courtesies of a conference line training call. Well, now we are having to learn a whole new set of rules.

Let’s start from the beginning! When you receive an invitation to a video conference call it is important to head to the device you will be using and download their app or check out their website. This will make the training day much smoother since you will already be familiar with delivery of the service. Make an account, and you will be ready on the day of the training to just add in the meeting info, not having to hold up the whole group. Be sure to add your full name to the account so we know it’s you. We know it’s 2020 but pretty sure no one’s name is iPhone A5.

Now it’s time to find the perfect place to join the call. Whether that be your home office, kitchen table, or couch; try to make sure it is a quiet location with minimal distractions. With school, work, and normal living all happening under one roof, it is understandable that things might not be super tidy. If you’re on Zoom, throw up a cool background! Maybe one day you’re taking the call from Aruba and the next day it is the living room of the Simpson’s house. We also understand that there might be the occasional pet or child pop in, it’s happened to all of us. The important thing to remember is that you should be focused on the training material because that’s important stuff during that blocked out time.

Once you’re on the call, make sure your audio and video are working. The added bonus of video training is getting to see the team’s face ahead of the event day. We talk to you through the phone and on email for weeks ahead of an event and it is the best feeling to be able to connect face to face! Once you’re on video, keep it on! It is extremely tough on the presenter to be speaking to a bunch of black boxes for an hour. Plus, then we can have that facial response that you don’t get on a dial-in call.

Lastly, most video conference platforms have some type of chatbox. We definitely encourage it when we take attendance to make sure you are accounted for on the call, ask any questions, or to interact with the presenter. Sometimes on a video call, it is tricky to read social cues when you can jump into the conversation. With one person talking over the other, it can be hard for everyone to understand. By using the chatbox, you can say what you have to say without interrupting or waiting till the end and forgetting your question.

Alright, now that you know the new rules of video training calls, we are excited to get to work with you. Check out our dashboard for events popping up in your area!