Videoconferencing in the Age of Covid-19

Last Friday, I attended a dance party that kicked off an online workshop on relationship marketing that was being run by my friend Danielle Brooks, of FinallyFreeWorkshops.com. It was supposed to be a fun time and a way to blow off steam since we are all sheltered in place, before learning useful tools about how  to create connections to grow your business. 

The workshop took place over Zoom and shortly after we were all assembled and the event began, we were hacked by some bored barely-older than kids who started racial slurs on a repetitive soundtrack and hijacked the whole thing since they overrode the moderator so she couldn't shut them off, silence them, or evict them from our meeting. 

We are not alone in our experience. The NY Post reports that the FBI stated that hijacking and hacking of courses, lectures, meetings, etc. is becoming a frequent occurrence as people have been forced to meet online rather than in person. The feds "issued tips for how to avoid getting hacked, including making meetings or classrooms on Zoom private, not sharing conference links on social media and managing screen-sharing options so only the host can display theirs," according to the NY Post. I think those are great ideas and they will work as long as the hackers aren't too clever and know how to disable the host-controls. 

Flexjobs.com published an article in 2017 regarding 10 Best Practices For Video Meetings that included these reminders (and let's be honest many of these apply to Best Practices in ANY meetings):
1) Prepare your location and yourself.
​2) Make sure you know how to use all necessary hardware and software.
3) Use a headset.
4) Call in early.
5) Find a way to "raise your hand."
6) Speak clearly and without pausing.
​7) Ask for clarification if you miss something. 
8) Handle unexpected distractions quickly. 
9) Restate any assignments
10) Announce your departure (meaning don't just leave making people wonder if you had a technical issue, needed a quick bathroom break, or actually left the meeting intentionally).

I would also add that when appropriate, send a follow-up e-mail thanking the host or client you've been meeting with for their time and reiterate any main points or action items on which you would like agreement. Gratitude is never out of fashion, and is always the best business practice. .