5 Tips for Taking Virtual Meetings From Your Phone

All your friends refer to you as “the busiest person I know.” It’s true — you’re constantly jumping from one meeting to the next, trying to make time for yourself in between. Unsurprisingly, you may be tempted to take a meeting from your phone. Most virtual meetings are hosted with the expectation — or assumption — that the attendees will log on from their desks. You won’t be any less present and engaged if you log on from your phone, though — be sure to follow these five tips if you do so.

Should You Take Virtual Meetings From Your Phone

1. Don’t apologize for being on your phone. When you log onto a Zoom meeting from your phone, your first impulse may be to apologize and explain why you aren’t at your desk. Rather than give in to this impulse, you should resist the urge and instead thank the meeting host for having you — or if you’re the host of the meeting, thank all of the participants for attending. There’s no need to offer excuses or apologies when you’re an active, engaged participant in a meeting.

2. Be sure that your surroundings are professional. If you’re accepting a meeting on your phone, it’s likely because you’re on the go, but this doesn’t mean that your surroundings have to be unprofessional. On the contrary, you should be sure that your surroundings are appropriate to be seen during a meeting. Of course, you can turn your camera off, but other meeting attendees may read this as unprofessional or unengaged. To this end, you must clear away any clutter your teammates may see and ensure no mess is visible. Alternatively, you could upload a virtual background so your surroundings always look professional.

When to Take Meetings From Your Phone

3. Don’t take meetings from your phone unless you need to. Although there’s no problem with taking a meeting from your phone, it’s always ideal to log on from your laptop, where you can access your notes, documents, and other information that may be relevant to the meeting. You’ll also have fewer tools available on the mobile version of Zoom or Teams than you would from the desktop version. For these reasons, it’s best to sparingly log on from your phone.

4. Make sure you have the mobile app downloaded. Even if you don’t plan on taking meetings from your phone, you should always be prepared for the possibility. You might be in a pinch or running late from lunch and need to log on to an important meeting when your laptop isn’t available. When you do so, you must be sure you have the mobile application downloaded for your video call platform of choice. Attempting to attend a video meeting from a mobile browser will likely incur technical difficulties and frustration.

Tips for Video Calls From Your Phone

5. Connect to the strongest web signal. The strength of your web signal is another critical component of how successful your phone meeting is. You’re guaranteed poor results if you log on via a weak WiFi connection. Expect lots of disruptions and low video quality. Conversely, you can have a perfectly positive meeting from your phone when you log on with a strong connection. If no strong WiFi is available, see if your phone’s data connection is better. This may provide faster speeds and more reliable video quality than WiFi.

When You Shouldn’t Take Virtual Calls From Your Phone

There are certain situations when you shouldn’t be taking a meeting from your phone. If you happen to be in an area where quietness is expected, it’s not ideal to attend a meeting. Don’t be the guy at the library who’s loudly talking about next quarter’s projected sales numbers. Similarly, if you are discussing sensitive information, you don’t want to log onto the meeting from your phone while in a public place such as a coffee shop. This could potentially expose privileged company information to the wrong people.

Finally, you shouldn’t take a virtual call from your phone if you aren’t ready to log onto a call. If you wake up late, you might rush to get dressed, brush your teeth, and comb your hair. You may panic at seeing an incoming video call invitation and accept it on your phone instead of your laptop. This is rarely a good idea. If you aren’t composed and ready to engage with your colleagues, it’s better to decline the meeting, offer your apologies, and do your best to reschedule. Install a virtual background so you’re always ready for a virtual meeting, no matter what’s behind you.