Stage 4 · Lesson 5 of 7

Online calls that work

On video calls, speaking up is harder: delays make people talk over each other and there is no body language to show you want to speak. Check your microphone before the call; a cheap headset beats a laptop microphone. Use the raise-hand feature or say your name: "Ali here, a quick point."

Turn your camera on when you can, especially in small meetings and with new teams. Pause a moment longer before speaking to allow for lag. Mute when not speaking in big calls, and unmute ready to talk. Use the chat for questions when the conversation is moving fast.

Common trapstaying muted and off camera for whole meetings, which makes you invisible to the team.

A question to check yourself come when you add the roadmap to your account. Add it

Resources for this stage

Start with

GuideFree
GitLab Handbook: Communication
GitLab
Practical rules for meetings, video calls and written follow-ups in a remote team

Practise

Soft Skills Engineering
Podcast answering real questions about speaking up and working with people in tech

Keep handy

Loom
Record a short video update when a meeting slot is not enough or time zones clash
One on One Meeting Questions
Questions to raise with your manager when meetings are hard to speak up in

Struggling right now? If you are in danger or thinking about harming yourself, contact local emergency services or a crisis line: Find a helpline (any country), Umang (Pakistan), Tele-MANAS, 14416 (India).