Everyone forgets to properly use the mute button. Newscasters beaming in from their basement studios forget to unmute before silently reporting the facts, just like your boss forgets to mute themselves before digging into their lunch.
That said, you should hold yourself to a higher standard. Train yourself to mute your mic every time you aren’t actively participating in the call. You’ll reduce the risk of something happening on your end that distracts the other members of the call, while at the same time getting into the habit of removing yourself when it’s not your turn to speak.
We’d recommend against muting yourself if you’re in the middle of a conversation. If someone is asking you a question, or just cutting in between thoughts, you might need to respond quickly, and keeping your mic open is a good thing to do.
Conversely, train yourself to unmute your microphone when you think your turn to speak is approaching. Too often, we don’t speak for long periods of time during these video and audio calls, and completely forget that we muted ourselves to begin with. If you’re in the habit of unmuting yourself, however, you’ll always think about turning off the mic when it’s getting time for you to speak.
Another tip? See if your video call’s program has a microphone keyboard shortcut. In many cases, it’s the M key. There’s nothing easier than just clicking the M key once to mute yourself, then once more to begin speaking again.
The mute button is an unassuming but powerful tool. Please use it wisely.
Cover image by Anna Shvets from Pexels
