Many of us have experienced an awkward lagged conversation when using videoconferencing to talk to colleagues, friends or family. The cause of lag is most commonly associated with internet connectivity.
A video call relies on simultaneously uploading video data from your own computer and downloading video data from the other participant's computer. These tasks occur within the bandwidth you have available in your internet connection. Lag happens when you do not have enough bandwidth to support the simultaneous upload and download of data.
Note that upload speed is slower than download speed, so when someone has a connectivity issue, it is more noticeable to the other parties on the call than it is to the person with the slow connection. If you receive notifications about poor connectivity, check in with the consumer about whether the quality is okay for them, rather than relying on your own experience of the call.
Tips for dealing with lag
- Reduce the quality of your video call, such as turning your camera off briefly, and then back on again.
- Close any other programs that are using the internet
- Switch to a different connection
- Explain why lag occurs
- Slow the pace of your conversation to reduce talking over one another
- Switch to your back-up plan, such as use the telephone to complete the consultation or reschedule the appointment.