I guess it was two or three weeks ago when everybody on social media shared some videocall netiquette rules, but I can’t find them quickly.
My personal preferences are
- use a headset
- mostly applies to laptop and tablet users, because sometimes the microphone picks up the video call from the speakers and that leads to an echo
- simple headphones could help with the echo but then you don’t benefit from having the mic closer to your mouth (picks up less environmental noise)
- people new to videoconferences tend to chat like in real life leading to multiple people speaking at the same time
- if people are disciplined, everyone should mute themselves unless they are speaking
- coughing or sneezing, even if you turn away from the mic usually is very disturbing when not muted
- if audio quality is bad, try disabling the camera to reduce bandwidth
- for a first meeting it might be a good idea to test beforehand with just one other person to see what kind of troubles come up
- it might be enough if two or three people join a little earlier than announced