How to hold suc­cess­ful video con­fer­ences

Video con­fer­ences make it possible to com­mu­nic­ate in real time with other people via camera and mi­cro­phone, re­gard­less of location. You can not only talk but also share screens and exchange files. Video con­fer­ences have become an integral part of modern teamwork, es­pe­cially in remote work or in­ter­na­tion­al col­lab­or­a­tion.

What is a video con­fer­ence? Origins and de­vel­op­ment

A video con­fer­ence is a syn­chron­ous trans­mis­sion of video and audio over the internet, allowing two or more people to com­mu­nic­ate in real time. For this, you need spe­cial­ised software — either installed locally or browser-based — as well as hardware with a camera and mi­cro­phone (computer, tablet, smart­phone).

Research on video con­fer­ence tech­no­logy began as early as the 1930s. However, only with the rise of powerful computers equipped with built-in cameras and mi­cro­phones did it become user-friendly for the general public. By the late 1990s, this form of com­mu­nic­a­tion was still un­fa­mil­i­ar to most companies. The move toward main­stream use began in the early 2000s as broadband networks emerged, providing higher data trans­mis­sion rates that enabled good-quality video and audio.

The fact that video con­fer­ences are now a standard part of business life is not just due to tech­no­lo­gic­al de­vel­op­ments. Social changes since the turn of the mil­len­ni­um, the global net­work­ing of economies, and the trend toward flexible work models and new work concepts have also made video con­fer­en­cing necessary so that teams can col­lab­or­ate ef­fect­ively across distances.

Ad­vant­ages and dis­ad­vant­ages of virtual meetings

Video con­fer­ences are a relevant al­tern­at­ive to in-person meetings for any company. The greater the pro­por­tion of remote work and the more fre­quently you work with partners or service providers at distant locations, the more cost-effective video con­fer­ences become. However, the com­mu­nic­a­tion channel not only has ad­vant­ages but also poses certain chal­lenges.

An overview of the ad­vant­ages and dis­ad­vant­ages

Ad­vant­ages of video con­fer­ences

Video con­fer­ences offer companies sig­ni­fic­ant cost savings because travel and ac­com­mod­a­tion costs are elim­in­ated, and con­fer­ence rooms may no longer need to be rented. Work time is used more ef­fi­ciently because there is no travel time. Virtual meetings also improve a company’s en­vir­on­ment­al footprint since business travel emissions are reduced, which pos­it­ively con­trib­utes to sus­tain­ab­il­ity goals. In terms of pro­ductiv­ity, digital meetings are often more struc­tured, shorter, and easier to organise. Another advantage is the option to record meetings: Missed sessions can be watched later, ensuring that in­form­a­tion comes straight from the source.

Dis­ad­vant­ages of video con­fer­ences

Despite many benefits, video con­fer­ences come with some chal­lenges. For in­ter­na­tion­al teams, different time zones can make schedul­ing difficult. There is also the risk of technical issues, es­pe­cially for par­ti­cipants outside the company network who might lack direct IT support. A poor internet con­nec­tion can disrupt call quality and make important in­form­a­tion hard to un­der­stand. Equipping a con­fer­ence room pro­fes­sion­ally for video con­fer­ences can also require ad­di­tion­al hardware and in­stall­a­tion costs. Nonverbal signals are harder to interpret, and building trust is often more chal­len­ging than in face-to-face in­ter­ac­tions.

Video con­fer­ence v. in-person meeting

A video con­fer­ence offers many benefits, but virtual meetings are not always the right setting for every dis­cus­sion. In some cases, in-person meetings remain essential despite requiring more time and resources.

Video con­fer­ences are suitable for:

• Project team status meetings (sharing progress updates, resolving questions)
• Briefings for employees (task as­sign­ments)
• Virtual office hours (ad­dress­ing questions in one-on-one con­ver­sa­tions)
• Initial job in­ter­views (in­tro­duct­ory phase)
• Adding remote par­ti­cipants to an on-site meeting

In-person meetings are re­com­men­ded for:

• Multi-hour (strategy) meetings
• Dis­cus­sions involving sensitive or emotional topics (business de­vel­op­ment, downs­iz­ing, strategic shifts)
• Job in­ter­views in the advanced stages of the hiring process

Re­com­men­ded video con­fer­ence tools

Once you’ve decided to hold a video con­fer­ence, the next step is choosing the right software. The necessary hardware is usually already available: smart­phones, computers, or tablets — all come with built-in cameras and mi­cro­phones. That’s all you need.

You can choose between on-premises and browser-based ap­plic­a­tions. Which is better depends on your needs, but browser-based tools often offer greater flex­ib­il­ity since par­ti­cipants can join from any device.

Many video con­fer­ence software options are available for free download or direct browser use. For smaller meetings (two to about ten par­ti­cipants), free tools can be perfectly adequate. Microsoft Teams is a classic choice, but there are many easy-to-use al­tern­at­ives offering ad­di­tion­al benefits.

If you regularly host large-scale video con­fer­ences, free tools might not meet your needs. In such cases, consider upgrading to Pro versions or pur­chas­ing business-grade ap­plic­a­tions like Cisco Webex Meetings or Go­ToMeet­ing. Evaluate features, pricing, and usability before making a choice.

For frequent virtual meetings with multiple par­ti­cipants in one location, it may be worth equipping a con­fer­ence room with pro­ject­ors and cameras for pro­fes­sion­al group settings.

Preparing, running, and following up on video con­fer­ences

Besides tech­no­logy, several or­gan­isa­tion­al aspects ensure that video con­fer­ences run smoothly and ef­fect­ively.

Pre­par­a­tion

An­nounce­ment: Send in­vit­a­tions to par­ti­cipants via email a few days in advance, and if possible, include an overview of the agenda so your team members can prepare. Add a direct link to the virtual meeting room and offer the option to save the event to their calendar with a single click. Depending on the software you use, these in­vit­a­tions can often be sent directly from the ap­plic­a­tion itself.

Tech check: To ensure pro­duct­ive dis­cus­sions, each par­ti­cipant must confirm that their equipment is ready to use. Have your employees test their camera, mi­cro­phone, and login cre­den­tials before the con­fer­ence. Important: The test should be performed well in advance so that any technical issues can be addressed before the meeting.

Choose the right en­vir­on­ment: If you are joining a video con­fer­ence from outside the office, select a quiet location where you won’t be disturbed. Avoid bright back­light­ing. Es­pe­cially when working from home, make sure the back­ground looks pro­fes­sion­al. Remove dec­or­a­tions, cluttered shelves, or children’s toys from the camera’s view ahead of time. Re­flect­ive objects should also be placed out of sight to prevent glare.

Running the meeting

Attire: According to a study, some par­ti­cipants attend video con­fer­ences without wearing any trousers. While it might be com­fort­able, it’s not re­com­men­ded. Clothing and mindset influence each other. For video con­fer­ences, choose business attire. A shirt and blazer can enhance your per­suas­ive­ness and authority. Avoid small patterns or re­flect­ive jewellery, as they can cause flick­er­ing or un­pleas­ant glare on camera and may distract other par­ti­cipants.

Mod­er­a­tion: Appoint a moderator in advance to lead the meeting ef­fi­ciently and manage speaking turns. This is es­pe­cially important in the digital space, where trans­mis­sion delays can lead to over­lap­ping con­ver­sa­tions and sim­ul­tan­eous responses, dis­rupt­ing the flow of the meeting.

Min­im­ising dis­trac­tions: Every par­ti­cipant should give their full attention to the meeting. Silence phones and avoid making un­ne­ces­sary noises: modern mi­cro­phones are so sensitive that even rustling paper or setting down coffee mugs can be picked up loudly. Prevent noises like these and mute your mi­cro­phone when you’re not speaking. As a matter of respect, don’t engage in side con­ver­sa­tions or multitask during the meeting.

Follow-up

Meeting notes: After the meeting, prepare minutes from the meeting that all par­ti­cipants can access on the shared project platform or receive via email. This creates ac­count­ab­il­ity, gives the virtual meeting the same im­port­ance as an in-person ap­point­ment, and prevents mis­un­der­stand­ings about agreed decisions.

Recording: Use the option to make the recording available as a video file if par­ti­cipants had to cancel last minute due to illness or if you want to share the content with a larger group of employees.

Video con­fer­ences are practical, but not always ideal

A video con­fer­ence is now a practical tool for effective business com­mu­nic­a­tion in any company. It sim­pli­fies col­lab­or­a­tion for remote teams and reduces travel costs. In terms of ef­fi­ciency, these meetings usually don’t differ from in-person ap­point­ments when all par­ti­cipants are well-prepared and stay focused and engaged during the session.

Technical im­ple­ment­a­tion is no longer a barrier. Whether you’re a freel­an­cer, a small business, a mid-sized company, or a global cor­por­a­tion — simple software is available for free, while more advanced ap­plic­a­tions with ad­di­tion­al features are often offered through sub­scrip­tion models and are no more com­plic­ated to use.

As at­tract­ive as video con­fer­ences are, they are not suitable for every type of meeting and also have their downsides. Instead of choosing a video con­fer­ence out of cost con­sid­er­a­tions or con­veni­ence, you should always carefully evaluate whether the format truly fits the occasion. After all, personal in­ter­ac­tion can never be com­pletely replaced by a video con­fer­ence.

FAQs

What is a video con­fer­ence?

A video con­fer­ence is a syn­chron­ous trans­mis­sion of video and audio over the internet, allowing two or more people to com­mu­nic­ate in real time.

What are the ad­vant­ages of virtual meetings?

Companies save travel costs, reduce carbon emissions, and often benefit from shorter, more struc­tured meetings that can be recorded for future reference.

What are the dis­ad­vant­ages of virtual meetings?

Initial hardware in­vest­ments can be sig­ni­fic­ant, and meeting quality depends on par­ti­cipants’ internet con­nec­tions and equipment, which can cause dis­rup­tions.

Which video con­fer­ence tools are re­com­men­ded?

Both on-premises and browser-based tools work well. Browser-based tools offer greater flex­ib­il­ity for par­ti­cipants using different devices.