Poor audio quality can be a large inconvenience during virtual meetings, especially when everyone is remote working. The good news is that most problems are simple to solve. The last thing you want is to have a technical issue right when it’s time to dial in; there’s no one to help troubleshoot your connection, and it can get in the way of a productive afternoon. Make sure everything is right before the call begins.
By making some minor tweaks and learning a few troubleshooting tips, you’ll be better prepared to hear—and be heard—during your next call.
Finding the right environment
Make an effort to keep your meetings in a quiet environment. Try to avoid joining a meeting from your vehicle. Air conditioners and washing machines should be turned off or moved away from. If you're attending a meeting outside or with your windows open, be mindful that your microphone can pick up even the tiniest breeze. If you're in an empty room with hard surfaces that produce a lot of echoes, your sound quality may suffer. Choose smaller rooms with furniture, drapes, or carpeting instead. Bedrooms and offices are excellent choices. When you're not speaking, remember to mute your microphone and be sure to encourage others to do the same.
Use the right equipment
While the built-in microphone on your laptop will work, it may not always pick up your voice clearly. Computer microphones can also pick up on background noises or vibrations from your desk. If you use wired headphones with a built-in microphone, the sound quality will be significantly improved. A wired headset with active and passive noise cancellation is even better. To avoid feedback, don't rely on your computer’s iffy built-in microphone and speakers. While Bluetooth headsets can be useful, they also have some disadvantages. When compared to a wired audio connection, there is an inherent delay with Bluetooth audio, and you must keep your equipment charged. Bluetooth quality will vary from device to device. While Bluetooth offers freedom of movement, the performance can quickly fade if you walk away from your PC, whether multi-tasking while on call or simply pacing the room.
Log in early
Don't wait until the meeting begins to discover that your connection is down or that your software isn't working properly; test it before the meeting begins. Each of the wide variety of conferencing applications available has its own testing options, allowing you to test audio and video quality before the meeting starts, avoiding any conflict or hassle.
Maintain an excellent connection
Having a secure and stable connection is an important motivator for the remote worker. Interpersonal connection is only going to be as good as the technical connection supporting voice, video, and desktop collaboration, with voice being the key to all engagement.
Pixelated screens, latency, and choppy audio that come with low bandwidth are some potential dangers in virtual meetings. If you're expecting a video call, make sure your smart devices aren't using up all of your internet bandwidth. With more household members now all sharing the connection at home for streaming services, mobile/tablet applications, and other online entertainment, the struggle to maintain a stable connection can be a frustrating one. It's always best to come prepared. Coordinate as best you can with those sharing the internet access with you, and be prepared to switch off your video to prioritize your voice.
Account for the otherwise awkward silence
In a virtual meeting space, you don’t have the same level of visibility as you might in the physical conference room. Silence in an in-person meeting is normally self-explanatory, but in the virtual world, silence can be uncomfortable and might lead all participants to think there are some technical problems. In the virtual meeting environment, it is perfectly acceptable to provide some narrative when you might otherwise be silent.
Brief commentary such as “I’m updating the spreadsheet now based on what we just discussed and I will share that with the entire group then” will give everyone the signal that you are still engaged in the call, and that they remain technically connected to the meeting.
Network is the new working environment
Businesses will be focused on the key contributors to their private network, and to the service providers who deliver calls inbound from their customers and prospects. The network is an increasingly critical part of the workplace and has a direct impact on staff performance and customer experience. As a key business asset, network redundancy, capacity management, equipment maintenance, and vendor management are all extremely important. Providing your employees with mobile hotspots to access company resources might be a helpful business continuity approach to protect that last mile connection for remote workers.
Connecting prospects, customers, and suppliers are really important and Spearline helps businesses around the world to ensure their inbound and outbound calling connections, and their virtual meeting connections, are of the best quality and supporting great conversations.
Find out more about Spearline
If you are new to Spearline and would like to find out more about how you can benefit from the platform, we would love to speak with you. Please send us a brief message, and we will be in contact with you shortly.
Spearline's platform proactively tests inbound telecommunications services, as well as dial-out. Connectivity and audio quality are monitored on fixed-line, SIP, or mobile networks, globally. Spearline enables organizations to provide uninterrupted services to customers around the world. For further information, or if you have any further questions 
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