The 4 most common screen share mistakes and how to avoid them

We all make mistakes, it’s how we learn from them that matters (poetic, we know). Even though we believe that sharing your screen is a piece of cake, unfortunately that doesn’t mean errors don’t happen. We’ll look at what we believe to be 4 of the most common screen share mistakes and steps you can take to avoid them.

1. Not understanding the tech

If it’s your first time using online meeting software or you’re using a product for the first time, it’s completely understandable that you need time to figure out how things work. Our advice is to experiment with the product in your own time and not in your weekly team catch-ups.

Make sure you know how to initiate a screen share session before your meeting, otherwise you’ll just end up wasting everyone’s time if the first ten minutes of the meeting is spent trying to get to grips with how to use the tool. Don’t be that person.

2. Using it incorrectly

One of the main benefits of screen share is that it helps everyone in the meeting get on the same page. If used correctly this helps focus the meeting and increase engagement. Although, that doesn’t mean it’s going to do all the work for you. What you choose to share still needs to serve a purpose and encourage everyone to engage.

The best advice we can give is to make the most of the tool, share visual cues, and use it as an opportunity to present something that ignites a discussion (no pressure). In turn leading to a more productive meeting for everyone.

3. Unnecessary distractions

It’s crucial to remember that when you’re sharing your entire screen, you’re doing exactly that. Meaning any other apps with notifications will end up notifying everyone in the meeting. Quite awkward when everyone in your meeting sees that meme your work pal thought would be fantastic to share. On top of the potential embarrassment, it will just distract you and the people in your meeting.

An easy way to avoid this is by closing all apps or programmes that aren’t needed for your meeting. You don’t even need to close app entirely, a lot of apps will let you snooze notifications for a certain period. Another option when using our tool is to share a specific browser tab or application window. This negates the need to share your entire screen and prevents any annoying notifications spoiling the fun.

4. Presenting minuscule material

We don’t all have hawk like eyesight, would be awesome if we did. Whatever you choose to share in your meeting, it needs to eligible enough for everyone. Don’t present a PowerPoint with size 8 Calibri and expect everyone to comprehensively understand what you’re showing them.If you’re unsure remember to inform people in your meeting to use the full screen function we offer, to increase the size of your content.

So, now you know, you have no excuses if you make one or all these mistakes. Again, we get that mistakes happen, just try not to make the same mistake several times. To get a leg up, start practising today by registering for our free screen share tool.

MEETINGS LOOK BETTER WITH SCREEN SHARE

Your Guests see what you see, how handy is that!?