Category: How To

Even before more people started working from home, virtual conferences were still commonly used as people wanted to be able to communicate face-to-face with other locations without having to travel for a meeting that might not even be an hour long. These days, though, with a good percentage of the population working from home, being able to communicate through virtual conferences effectively is of the utmost importance.

Just like in-person meetings, there are some guidelines that you should follow for virtual conferences that allow you to show respect to the other members of the conference. Let’s take a look at some of those etiquette guidelines that everyone should know about so you can ace your next virtual conference.

Punctuality

One of the worst things that you can do at an in-person meeting is to arrive late. When the other parties are on time, they end up awkwardly sitting there until your arrival, and it sets a bad tone for the whole conference. The same is true for virtual conferences. Just because someone is in their home or office by themselves doesn’t mean that it’s any less awkward for them. Even worse, you’re taking up their valuable time and throwing off their entire day’s schedule. It’s OK to be early, but being right on time is ideal for a virtual conference, just make sure that you’re not late.

Stay Focused

When you’re at an in-person meeting, there aren’t many temptations to look at your phone or start browsing the web because you’re giving your full attention to the person speaking. One of the biggest issues with virtual conferences, however, is how easy it is to become distracted from the speaker. When you’re not sharing your screen, it can be tempting to start checking emails or catching up on social media, but you have to stay focused. Respect the speaker’s time and give them your full attention.

Audio Etiquette

Nobody would ever speak over someone who is presenting at a conference in-person on purpose, but when it comes to virtual conferences, it happens on accident all the time. Many people put on their headset without knowing whether or not it’s on mute, and can accidentally speak during a presentation. It’s not malicious most of the time as they’re speaking to someone off-camera for a moment or speaking while taking notes, but it can be distracting. Make sure to double-check your microphone so that it’s always on mute when you’re not talking, and always off mute when you are talking.

Dress For Success

The great part about a virtual conference is that you don’t have to get fully dressed up like you would if you were at an office, but you should at least still look presentable. In fact, it all comes down to the top that you’re wearing. Since people can really only see you from the neck up, try to wear a nice clean shirt at the very least. If you know that you’re only going to be seen from the neck-up, then you can still get away with wearing basketball shorts or sweatpants as long as you look sharp up top.

Raise Your Virtual Hand

Virtual conferences can end up being pretty large in size with dozens, if not hundreds, of people all in the same virtual room. With that said, you shouldn’t just unmute yourself and chime in whenever you want. Instead, many of today’s virtual conference rooms like Microsoft Teams, Slack, and more, have options where you can figuratively raise your hand. This is a great feature that makes sure nobody is talking over one another.

Turn On The Camera

Many of us have probably been in virtual conferences where the only person that has their camera on is the one who’s presenting. While in larger conferences this is fine as the presenter will request that cameras and microphones are off, smaller and more intimate conferences should call for everyone to have their cameras on. You might not be “camera-ready” but it shows respect to the speaker of the conference, making things less awkward for them in the process. It also shows that you’re fully attentive toward them and that you appreciate their time.

Stay On Schedule

We already mentioned how important it is to be punctual for a virtual conference, but that’s not the only time-related tip that we have. Most conferences are going to have a schedule of topics that will be touched on, and it’s important to stay on that schedule. It can be easy to start a brand-new conversation during the middle of a virtual conference, but you want to stay focused so that the conference ends at its scheduled time. Many of these conferences are scheduled down to the minute, so respect everyone’s time by sticking to that.

Encouraging messages are a great way to acknowledge a friend’s accomplishments, goals, and personal struggles. But you’ll want to follow these general guidelines to compose the most meaningful message.

1. When to Send Encouraging Messages

You feel the urge to connect by letting someone else know they’re doing a great job or moving in the right direction. But there’s a fine line between sending encouragement and butting into someone else’s business. 

So, it’s important to think about why you’re sending an encouraging note. Is it for you to feel good that they finally followed your advice or do you genuinely want to encourage this person?

2. Why Send an Encouraging Note

An encouraging message makes sense when someone has reached out seeking emotional support, but not when it’s congratulating them on a personal achievement they’ve never openly discussed with you.

For example, if you have a friend who struggles with their weight and has asked for your support, an encouraging message may be welcome.

But if that same friend just lost some weight but has never expressed they’re trying to, an encouraging message now feels like you’re judging them. The same goes for dating, kicking a habit or addiction, leaving a bad relationship, and similar sensitive topics.

Another opportunity for encouragement is when someone has experienced a sudden loss. This one is a bit easier to navigate. But you should still think about why you want to encourage someone—for them or you.

3. Focus on Them

Your encouraging messages should focus on the person and not a similar experience you went through and overcame. You may mean well. But the latter can be a sign of narcissism. 

Put yourself in their shoes rather than trying to fit them into your worldview and experiences.

4. Keep It Short or Long

This depends on the person. Think about what they would appreciate. Some people would love a 5-page letter from you, complete with flower stickers and a picture your 3-year-old drew for them. Others would get more out of words you might see on a locker room poster. 

• Hang in there.
• I’m rooting for you.
• Sorry about your recent loss. 
• Take care of yourself.
• You’ve got this!
• I can’t wait to catch up with you.

5. Take Your Time to Get it Right

Even if this is a 10-word message, take time to choose those words. Write it. Read it aloud. Edit. Pretend you’re them reading it. Edit again.

6. Add a Meaningful Quote

Find a quote from a person your friend admires that relates to the situation. Place it in quotes and cite the source so they know where those words came from.

Religious sayings can be a great source of strength, comfort, and motivation for the right person. But just like sending them a quote from a movie they’ve never seen, that same saying may not mean to them what it means to you. 

7. Make It Personal

Add an inside joke or reference only they’ll know. This one may not be appropriate in certain situations, but inside jokes foster feelings of connection. Whatever your friends are going through, you want them to know you’re thinking of them and will always be here for them. A little inside information demonstrates this in a way simple words cannot.

There are few things as valuable in this world as having someone’s trust or putting your trust in them. When this happens, you are putting all of your faith in someone to keep secrets, come through for you when you need it most, or simply be there to listen during difficult times. Almost everyone has at least one person that they trust to some degree, with some being so trustworthy that they can be told just about anything.

But how do you inspire trust, and how do you deserve to have someone’s trust? It’s a long and delicate process to earn the trust of someone, especially if you didn’t grow up knowing them (like a family member). Let’s take a deeper look into the belief of trust and see how it can become a bigger part of your life.

Be Trustworthy

It should go without saying that you don’t really deserve to be trusted if you haven’t shown the ability to be trustworthy. If someone tells you a secret and you immediately reveal that secret to several other people, you’ve already broken that person’s trust and it’s likely that they’re never going to put their faith in you again.

In fact, that person might end up resenting you and letting others know that you are not to be trusted. It doesn’t have to be something that will hurt someone deeply to betray their trust, as even minor ways of not being trustworthy will add up and cause that person to become bitter. Be true to your word and show someone that you can be trusted.

Take it Easy

We’ve all met someone that instantly wants to share every part of their personal lives with you. It can be a bit overbearing to hear it, especially if they’re expecting to hear some personal details about you. Instead of this method of trying to build trust, it’s best to take it slow. After all, you don’t fall in love with someone just by saying a couple of sentences to each other, and you wouldn’t want to put all of your faith in someone you just met.

It’s a long, gradual process that takes a lot of nuances to get just right. If you find yourself putting too much trust into someone too quickly, try to reel yourself in so that you don’t get hurt by someone that only seemed trustworthy on a surface level.

Care

You can make a promise to someone that you don’t know and it’s probably not going to hurt you one bit if you don’t follow through with that promise. If you show someone that you truly care about them and want to see them happy and put their faith in you, then you have to deliver any time that you make a promise. Care about those that you’re trusting, and the more you care about that person, the more you’re going to care that they trust you.

Admit Mistakes

We all know someone that doesn’t really take responsibility for their wrongdoings and tries to blame them on something or someone else. These people also aren’t likely to admit that they’re wrong in any situation, and it can be aggravating. Not surprisingly, these people don’t earn the trust of many that they come across.

One of the fastest ways that you can earn someone’s trust is to show humility and admit when you were wrong. It takes a big person to do this, and when it happens, everyone around you immediately sees you in a more respectful light and will be willing to trust you. When things hit the fan, you want to know that a person you trust would rather go down with the ship than abandon it.

Communication

The people that you trust the most are the ones that you hear from on an almost-daily basis. Keeping an open line of communication is paramount for establishing trust with someone, as you might not be seen as trustworthy if you’re a bit of a flight risk.

This is true in just about any scenario whether it’s personal or professional. People need to know that you’ll be able to answer their phone call or text message, and in some cases, even answer the door if they really need you. You’ll also want to communicate clearly. Don’t leave people guessing your true intentions, and you’ll be on your way to being more trustworthy.

You should assert yourself when companies provide inferior experiences. But you must keep the goal of a complaint letter in mind. Here’s how to compose a formal complaint letter to get desired results.

1. When to Write a Formal Complaint

A formal complaint is only necessary after you’ve given customer service an opportunity to correct the issue. It is an escalated attempt to right a wrong against you and/or prevent others from a similar experience.

2. Commit to Brevity

You have so many things this company could have done better. But over-explaining begins to sound like a rant. Others will tune you out.

A formal complaint allows you to perfect how and what you communicate. Outline your main points. Prioritize to keep the focus on what’s important. Omit unnecessary sidebars. 

3. Gather Important Information

Provide everything needed to follow up rather than expecting them to dig for it. Certain facts are essential to understanding the problem and potentially preventing it from happening to others.

• Serial numbers 
• Model numbers
• Membership account number (when applicable)
• Dates
• Place of purchase
• What’s wrong
• When the problem started (1st use, three months later)
• Names of people involved (if you have them) or descriptions
• Date/time/names when you spoke with customer service
• Documentation (screenshots, receipts, email chains, etc.)

4. State What You Want

Do you want a refund, exchange, or replacement parts? An apology? Rather than have the complaints department guess what would make you happy, tell them. 

5. Establish a Reasonable Timeline

Unlike a quick chat with customer care online, a formal complaint may take longer to consider. Set reasonable deadline expectations for resolving this issue.

6. Is This a Consumer Safety Issue

In some cases, you may alert them to serious danger. If you have a genuine concern for the safety of others, you may also want to contact the agencies that review product safety in your area. In the U.S., that might be:

• Consumer Product Safety Commission
• Federal Trade Commission
• Food and Drug Administration

Try to resolve something with the company first. Wield this power responsibly.

7. Make an Effective Case

Some issues have no simple solution. Remember, formal complaints will reach people who can recommend change within a company. You’re trying to make something happen that isn’t happening.

Legally speaking, the burden of proof is always on the plaintiff (you). You’re the one who has to make the case, not them.

8. Take Emotion Out of It

You may feel anger, betrayal, or loss. These will cloud your judgment.

If you’re thinking “I’ll show them how it’s done” or “why are they so stupid?”, that sense of superiority is ego. The ego rarely aligns with reality. Being egotistical is not an effective way to get someone to listen to you.

Avoid sarcasm which can be misunderstood to mean the opposite—especially in writing. Try to set all of these aside in favor of constructive communication.

9. Don’t Threaten

Be nice until it’s time not to be nice anymore. The person getting the letter probably isn’t the one who harmed you. They deserve to be treated humanely.

Try to get them on your side rather than jumping to threats of legal action and contacting agencies. These kinds of “threats” should be reserved for subsequent letters if the first gets no response or inadequate response. Even then, follow the above tips.