Technical Difficulties
Soften the following statement:
You sound horrible.
I think there may be something wrong with your sound.
Soften this statement:
Speak up
Sorry, I'm having a hard time hearing you. Could you please speak a little louder.
Time to start the meeting.
Let's get started.
Soften the following statements:
Our side wants to present first.
If it's okay with everyone we'd like to present our side first.
Indicate whether this is something you would do before, during or after the video conference.
Thank everyone for being on time.
The person is talking but their image suddenly stopped moving. What do you say?
I believe your video is frozen.
What are you talking about?
I don't really think I'm understanding you correctly, can you please explain it again/differently?
The meeting is over.
I believe we covered everything, so if everyone's in agreement we can conclude (wind up/finish).
People are starting to talk about points not set in the agenda. Get them back on track.
These are all really good points but it's important we stick to what is on the agenda for today.
Decide on what the agenda will be.
Before the video conference.
You are only able to see part of the person's face on the camera. What would you say to him/her?
I think you need to adjust your camera.
Perhaps you could speak a bit more slowly so we could all follow you.
I'm hungry and I need to go to the bathroom.
Let's take five, shall we?
Everyone has joined the call, but no one knows each other.
I think it would be helpful if we take a few minutes to introduce ourselves and speak a little about what we do (our role). I'll go first, my name is John and I'm head of sales in the NY office.
Ask someone to take minutes.
During - At the start of the conference.
You are only able to hear every other word the person says on the video call. What would you say to him/her?
Your sound seems to be getting cut-off.
Let me finish first, you keep interrupting me.
Perhaps if I could finish my point, then I would be happy to answer all your questions.
Not everyone is here yet, we can't start.
Perhaps we can give it a minute or two until everyone's entered the call. That way we won't have to repeat ourselves.
I noticed we have three Mikes on this call. In order to avoid confusion perhaps each Mike can tell us how they'd prefer to be addressed. (e.g. NY Mike, Mike T., Michael, etc.)
Sort out all technical issues, such as sound/video.
Before the call.
While on a conference call with your department, one of the people (Mark) is not aware that their dog is barking, their baby is crying and it makes it difficult to hear the speaker. Please tell him and ask him to fix this in a polite way.
Sorry, there seems to be a bit of outside noise filtering in. I believe it may be on your end Mark, are you able to close a window/door so it's easier to hear the speaker?
You're talking too much, let other people speak.
I would love to hear everyone's thoughts on this. If we could give a chance to those who haven't yet commented, I'd really appreciate it.
The meeting time is almost over but you haven't finished with everything on the agenda.
It's clear we won't be able to cover all points today because of time, I suggest we schedule another call for (day/time).
All points on the agenda have been covered. You notice some people are starting to feel comfortable and chat or ramble on about unrelated/social topics, others are just waiting for the call to end.
I believe we've covered our agenda for today. I'm glad to see everyone and catch-up, however if anyone needs to leave, please feel free.
Get feedback from your people as to how the video conference went.
After the call.