Virtual Meeting Etiquette: 4 Tips for Bankers
Virtual meeting etiquette can differ across various industries, reflecting the importance of adapting to specific expectations. While certain sectors may embrace a casual dress code that accommodates tee shirts and ball caps, others emphasize a more refined appearance like suits and ties. Some industries might host a virtual event where running over the allotted time is appropriate. For those in the financial or banking industry, exhibiting the virtual meeting etiquette applicable to your vertical is important. Keep reading for four helpful tips to make this happen.
1. Be Prepared Before Joining
When hosting a virtual meeting in the financial industry, like an earnings call or corporate communications event, strive to prepare yourself before the meeting starts. An event can fall apart if one or more presenters aren’t prepped. In other words, you want the audience’s attention focused on your content, not your lack of preparation.
Now, don’t get flustered—there are a few easy ways to prepare for a meeting without headaches. You can create notecards with your main talking points, work on an outline to keep next to you, or even add presenter notes to your presentation.
No matter how you prepare, just make sure you prep before your participants dial in.
PRO TIP: When working with a virtual meeting provider like Connex for an event like a townhall or board meeting, see if you can schedule a dry run. This will let you work out any kinks before the real thing.
2. Manage Your Time
You prepared for your virtual meeting such as a new hire training or strategic planning session, and it’s going off without a hitch. Now what? Virtual meeting etiquette also includes managing your time and staying respectful of others. Remember how we mentioned that some meetings may run longer, and that’s okay? Well, in the financial industry, that’s not always the case. Time is money, as they say.
If you prepared for your meeting, you should have also included only material for your allotted time. Therefore, stay on track and shorten your Q&A session if necessary. As we all know, it’s not uncommon for professionals, especially bankers, to have back-to-back meetings.
PRO TIP: Use a coordinator for your operator-assisted earnings call to keep your meeting on track.
3. Don’t Multitask
Our next tip for proper virtual meeting etiquette is to avoid multitasking at all costs. As we mentioned, you want your audience focused on you and your message, which can be hard to deliver if you’re distracted. Not only can multitasking ruin your participants’ experience, but it can also hinder your ability to communicate clearly.
To help avoid the need to multitask, don’t schedule too many meetings on presentation day. That way, you can focus on your virtual meeting instead of simultaneously preparing for others. Similarly, you can host your meetings in the morning if possible. For instance, by hosting a meeting in the afternoon, your mind may be filled with all the work piled up throughout the day.
PRO TIP: When presenting for events like financial workshops or employee training, turn your phone on mute and close all unnecessary browser tabs. The fewer distractions, the less chance you’ll multitask. This tip will also help maintain your professionalism if you need to share your screen.
4. Create an Agenda with Meaningful Content
Let’s be honest—we’ve all sat through a meeting that could have been an email. To keep up with proper virtual meeting etiquette, you should make sure you’re providing meaningful content. In other words, if you want people to set aside time for you, make it worthwhile.
Similarly, you’ll want to ensure your presentation follows your financial institution’s security guidelines. If discussing sensitive information, you should know what you can and cannot share outside your organization.
PRO TIP: If you’re sharing sensitive information, for example, earnings data, during an IR call, you can password-protect your virtual meeting. Passwords help keep uninvited participants from joining the call.
In today’s fast-moving professional world, it’s not unusual to have several virtual meetings in your Monday to Friday schedule. When hosting a virtual meeting, especially for bankers, you want to respect your audience’s time and attention. By following our 4 helpful etiquette tips, you’ll make the most out of your virtual meetings and provide a positive experience for your participants.
And, if the time comes when you need a helping hand for those high-stakes meetings, Connex is here to help you manage your meeting and protect your brand’s message.
