10 Virtual Meeting Pet Peeves & How to Avoid Them

The virtual meeting has become a mainstay in offices around the globe. They’re convenient and allow you to conduct business with your entire team — all without leaving the comfort of your home. However, much like in-person meetings, virtual meetings have become somewhat of a nuisance to workers, not just because of the alarming frequency, but also because of virtual meeting pet peeves.

Although no one likes to admit that they’re the culprit of breaking unwritten rules and virtual etiquette, many are unknowingly guilty. If you’re worried that you might subconsciously be annoying your remote coworkers, learn some of the most common virtual meeting pet peeves and how to avoid them.

1. Perpetual Tardiness

Being late to a virtual meeting is as acceptable as it was in an in-person meeting: it just isn’t. When you’re late to a virtual meeting, you’re showing disdain for other people’s valuable time. In some cases, the meeting can’t even start until you’re present. Therefore, punctuality is key to avoiding this pet peeve.

To make sure you’re always on time, plan like the meeting is 15 minutes before its actual scheduled time. Even if you’re late by nature to events and meetings, employing this technique can ensure that if you’re five minutes late to the phantom meeting time, you’re still 10 minutes early to the meeting. Plus, the extra 10 minutes gives you time to set up your lighting and make certain that your microphone and camera are in proper working order.

2. Playing With the Background

Playing with the background of Zoom or other video-conferencing programs was cute and funny at first. But after the initial wave of YouTube videos and experimenting with the background on your own, it’s suddenly grown tiresome. In many ways, it’s tantamount to a knock-knock joke. After a while, things become a bit overdone. Playing with the background is one of them.

If you must change your background to get rid of clutter in the background or make your meeting more professional-looking, decide on the background before the meeting starts. Once you’ve chosen one, decide whether it’s actually a professional background. If not, switch it to something more appropriate. And once you’ve chosen it, don’t change it no matter what your impulses tell you to do.

3. Thinking Pets Are Cute to Everyone

Bringing your cat or dog to the meeting is alright at certain times. It can lighten the mood, and you can let your coworkers have some insight into what your life is like, even if they’ve never met you in person before. But like playing with the background, bringing your pet to every meeting grows a bit tedious. It’s been played out. Moreover, you have to remember that not everyone thinks your pet is cute. In fact, some people aren’t pet people at all, making this move one of the many virtual meeting pet peeves you should undoubtedly avoid.

Unless you’re told explicitly that this is a pet-friendly meeting, keep Fido or Milo outside of your home office. Even if your dog is just laying on the floor and minding its own business, a squirrel jumping by your window is enough to send your pet into a frenzied barking fit. Nothing hurts the ears more than concentrated barking into a set of headphones. So even if you feel a bit of separation anxiety when your pet isn’t around, suck it up for 15 minutes. Then, go play.

4. Not Muting or Unmuting Your Microphone

Muting and unmuting your microphone is as simple as pushing a button, yet many meeting attendees seem to have problems with it. When you’re talking to your spouse in another room during the meeting and you forget to mute your microphone, you’re committing one of the biggest virtual meeting pet peeves possible. It’s disruptive, and depending on the volume of your voice, it can hurt other people’s ears.

In much the same fashion, forgetting to unmute your microphone can set people off. You’re trying to pass along important information or discuss figure or operations, and you’re completely inaudible. From your coworkers’ perspective, this is frustrating. Plus, you’re prolonging the meeting because you have to continuously repeat what you inaudibly tried to say beforehand.

If you’re always struggling with the mute/unmute button, practice in your free time. It sounds ridiculous, but the more you solidify the idea of using the button into your mind, the more likely that you won’t struggle with the situation in the future.

5. The “Can You Hear Me?” and Other Technical Gaffes

As mentioned above, showing up to a meeting 10 minutes or so early can help you get your hardware set up. Failure to do this can result in a cacophony of “can you hear me?” and “is this thing on?” which can wear on your coworkers and set a sour tone before the meeting even begins.

Most video-conferencing technology tries to circumnavigate these technical gaffes by actually checking your video and microphone feed when you hop on the virtual meeting. If you’re using an interface that doesn’t do this, take some time to test out all of your gear beforehand. Just this one simple step will help you avoid annoying situations that can derail your meeting before it even begins.

6. Allowing Anyone Into Your Office

Unless it’s a virtual holiday party that invites you to bring your spouse or kids, allowing just anyone into your office isn’t just disruptive, it’s disrespectful. Think of your home office as your solitary sanctuary. When you invite people into your sanctuary, and consequently the sanctuaries of your coworkers, you’ve already breached an unwritten rule of respect. While your spouse or kids might be downright charming, there’s a time and a place for meet-and-greets.

Lock the door. Put a tie on the door handle. Make a sign and hang it on the door. Do whatever needs to be done to make sure that no one pops into your home office during the meeting, even if it’s just to grab something real quick. As far as virtual meeting pet peeves go, this is one of the most common and one of the most egregious.

7. Interrupting or Talking Over Others

Unfortunately, interrupting or talking over others is commonplace in virtual meetings. It’s usually the result of too many people in a meeting or not knowing if a person muted their mic or whether they’re done talking. Although you may think someone’s done talking, don’t always bet on it. In some cases, they’re just having a momentary pause. When you start talking immediately after, you inadvertently interrupt them, causing another virtual meeting pet peeve.

To avoid this situation, do something to call attention to yourself before speaking. Raising your hand or making a gesture that’s agreed upon before the meeting can reduce the chance of you interrupting or talking over others.

8. Not Paying Attention

If you’re in a meeting but you still have pressing work to do, you might be tempted to multitask. But unlike sitting the back of a classroom, you’re front row center. When you’re working on something else, it’s readily apparent to everyone else in the meeting. Even if it’s not your intent, your indifference shows, which is quite the nuisance to your employer or manager.

When you’re in a virtual meeting, even if your presence is requested but the meeting doesn’t pertain directly to you, avoid the temptation to do other work on the side. If you’re constantly flirting with the idea, take anything that’s tempting you and put it away for the duration of the meeting. Your employer only asks for a few minutes of your time. Give them the courtesy of your undivided attention.

9. Attire Issues

Wearing sweats or pajamas is popular in the virtual world. People on national television have even been caught wearing a suit jacket with no pants. Sure, it’s funny, but you don’t want attire issues to become problematic. When you show up to an important meeting disheveled or wearing unprofessional attire, you’re the source of another virtual meeting pet peeve.

While dressing down may be fine in some instances, don’t automatically assume that your sweats or onesie is the ideal choice for a meeting. If you need clarification, just ask. Whoever’s running the meeting will let you know if it’s more formal or casual, and you can dress accordingly.

10. Fidgeting

Regardless of whether you’re in a meeting or on a first date, fidgeting is annoying. Someone’s trying to talk, and all you can see is someone who’s playing with every object in the room, twiddling their thumbs, or biting their nails. Don’t let this be you.

If you have a problem with fidgeting or you have an oral fixation, the first step is awareness. When you realize that you do these things, you become more conscious of them in a virtual meeting. Start by taking anything off your office desk that might become the source of fidgeting or a distraction. If you have an oral fixation, have a glass of water or a breath mint to keep you from smacking gum or biting your nails.

It’s All About Admitting You Have a Problem

Wherever the boring or mundane exists, your mind starts to wander. That’s when you’re likely stumbling into someone’s virtual meeting pet peeves. The first step is admitting you have a problem; no one’s a model employee at all times of the day. When you admit that you’ve stepped on some toes, you can make the first strides toward breaking yourself of bad habits. The next time you feel the urge to play with your background or let your cat into the home office, resist the temptation. You’ll look more professional, and your coworkers will thank you for your newfound sense of discipline and professionalism.

What are your virtual meeting pet peeves? How did you tell others about them? What have you done to curb your annoying behavior in virtual meetings? Connect with Virtual Vocations on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube to share your thoughts and tips. We’d love to hear from you!

Article based on original content from Alexia Chianis