A few weeks ago, I took a socially-distanced vacation to the beach with my household. One afternoon I agreed to hold work calls so an important project would not be delayed.

I ran in from the beach, did a quick change, and tuned in to the video call with just enough time to spare to pour myself a cold iced tea. I was 10 minutes into the meeting before I noticed that the backdrop of my video call was my wet bathing suit draped over a chair. Not the first impression I was trying to create!

And I am definitely not alone…I remember a few years ago when I was on a board call and my colleague’s wife walked behind him, apparently from the bathroom to another room, wrapped in only a towel. He didn’t notice, but the rest of us sure did. Thank goodness for oversized bath towels!

Reminders for your virtual calls:

• Notice the background of your calls. What’s behind you matters.

• If you wouldn’t wear a T-shirt for your meeting at work, then don’t wear it for your virtual meeting.

• Sign on early to your calls. It’s annoying to wait for someone in an office, and it feels even worse waiting during a virtual call.

• Treat your appointments seriously. Just because no one commuted to the meeting doesn’t make their calendar insignificant. 

• Plan ahead and be sure to notify colleagues, vendors, and certainly customers if you are going to need to reschedule.

And remember that even the most experienced virtual meeting participants will have mistakes, so laugh when they occur.