How to Handle Zoom & Skype problems

- Hi there.

I'm your English coach Christina and welcome to

"Speak English with Christina" where you'll learn

American culture and business know-how

to become confident in English.

So, you have a Skype meeting with an American business.

You have the usual stress of a real meeting

but with even more questions.

What if you also have to deal with technical problems?

What if the connection fails?

Don't worry.

Here's how you can use that situation to your advantage.

Let's go.

(upbeat music)

Can you hear me?

Okay, what about now?

Is that okay now?

Okay, I can see you but I can't hear you.

Can you hear me now?

(crickets trilling)

If you've used Skype, you've experienced

a conversation like that.

And if you have American colleagues or clients,

then Skype is probably part of the job.

And there's even a verb for that in English,

to Skype someone.

American companies often use Skype interviews

in the hiring process.

The interviewer wants to see your smile and your energy

and how reliable you are.

And that's why technical problems

can be devastating because you might make

one of these two common devastating mistakes.

The first one is pretending everything is okay.

That will not help you.

The interviewer might think that's how you handle

tough situations by ignoring the problems

instead of dealing with them.

Technical problems are real problems.

If you can't hear well,

the conversation won't be productive.

You won't understand the questions

and you'll give irrelevant answers.

The second devastating mistake is panicking.

It shows that you're easily stressed

by something as common as using Skype.

You'll appear uncomfortable with technology.

You'll look like you can't control your emotions

and stay calm when things don't go as planned.

In both cases, it sends a bad signal.

Nobody wants to hire a candidate like that.

So, how should you react instead?

Start by being prepared.

(upbeat music)

You should be just as serious in your preparation

for Skype or phone interview as you would

for a physical interview.

In fact, maybe you should prepare more.

Skype is notorious for connection problems,

probably one out of three calls that I do on Skype

have connection problems at some point.

So, to minimize the risks, check Skype's recommendations

for connection bandwidth on this page

and I'll put the link below.

Then, use this site to test your connection, link below.

And if your bandwidth is not enough,

use an ethernet cable to connect instead of WiFi.

Yes, it's old school but it works.

You should also get familiar

with the extra features of Skype.

Be sure that you know how to turn on your video

in case this isn't automatic.

And how to send a chat message so you can give

email addresses, phone numbers and links to the interviewer.

And, learn how to share your screen.

It might prove useful.

(upbeat music)

As I said, connection problems aren't unusual on Skype.

At some point, problems will happen.

So, here's my step by step guide to handling

connection problems based on my experience

of teaching online and talking to business clients.

Step one, be prepared.

On the day of the interview, check your connection strength

and keep an ethernet cable around.

Step two, if the connection lags or breaks down,

you can say, "Hold on a minute.

"I'm just going to plug in my ethernet cable

"to fix the connection."

Step three, if that doesn't work, suggest cutting the video.

Not ideal but it's more important

to hear clearly than to see the other person.

Say, "Do you mind if I cut the video?

"I'm going to see if that improves the connection."

Step four, if that still doesn't solve the problem,

suggest starting the call again.

Say, "Why don't we start over?

"Can you hang up and call me back?"

Step five, another option.

Keep Skype on for the video so you can see each other

but use the phone for clearer audio.

You can say, "Can I suggest a solution?

"Why don't you call me on the phone,

"but we can keep the video on Skype.

"Here's my number in the chat."

And then, you enter your number into the chat on Skype.

Step six.

If all else fails, suggest just using the telephone.

You can say, "I think Skype is having a bad day.

"It would be more efficient

"to do this on the phone, perhaps.

"Would you like to call me on the phone instead?"

In this whole situation, don't panic.

Use this opportunity to show that you can

control your stress, handle an unplanned situation

and manage the problems of everyday business.

For example, one time, I had a video interview

with a big business client who wanted to discuss

English coaching for their sales manager.

We had terrible Skype connection problems

and it took us 10 very long minutes to find a solution.

But, in the end, the company signed up three students

for coaching programs instead of one

as they originally planned, and the HR manager said,

"You were so calm during the connection problems.

"I felt that you must be really good at teaching online."

If I had panicked, maybe they would have said,

"Thanks for your offer but we're gonna continue looking."

(upbeat music)

So remember, prepare your call.

Learn Skype extra features and check your connection.

Don't ignore the problem and don't panic.

And you can always fall back on my step by step guide

to handling technical problems.

Now, write down your plan and the sentences

that you can use in that situation

and keep them around during your call.

And that's an advantage of Skype is that you can cheat

and be prepared with notes so you know

that everything will be fine even if problems arise.

And now, you're done.

(upbeat music)

So, tell me, how did you handle

your last Skype connection problems?

Write down your experience in the comments.

It's a great way to practice and share with the world.

And, if you would like to become more fluent,

more confident and work with one of my expert teachers,

check out my new program, Speak English Confidently.

It combines private training sessions

with a regular conversation practice so that you speak

more correct English more fluently.

Details are below the video.

All right, thanks so much for improving

your English with me and I'll see you next time.