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 spe­cial­ized 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 organize. 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 vs. 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 or­ga­ni­za­tion­al 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 pants. 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 jewelry, 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.

Min­i­miz­ing 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 summary notes 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.