EFE learning modules / Virtual Meeting Etiquette

Virtual Meeting Etiquette: Troubleshooting audio-video issues, maintaining camera presence, and managing digital interruptions

Common Expressions Back to Catalog

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You're on mute

/ዩ አር ኦን ሚውት/

ድምፅህ ተዘግቷል

The person is speaking but their microphone is deactivated.

ሰውየው እየተናገረ ቢሆንም ማይክሮፎኑ መዘጋቱን መግለጫ።

In Practice

"You're on mute, we can't hear you."
"I keep forgetting I'm on mute."
Fluent Tip

Used to alert someone to unmute their microphone.

Breaking up

/ብሬኪንግ አፕ/

ድምፅ መቆራረጥ

When the audio is intermittent due to a poor connection.

በደካማ ግንኙነት ምክንያት ድምፅ ሲቆራረጥ።

In Practice

"Your voice is breaking up, can you repeat that?"
"Sorry, the connection is bad and you're breaking up."
Fluent Tip

Used when a call's audio is failing.

Clear the air

/ክሊር ዘ ኤር/

ጥርጣሬን ማስወገድ

To resolve a misunderstanding caused by digital communication lag.

በዲጂታል ግንኙነት መዘግየት ምክንያት የሚፈጠርን አለመግባባት መፍታት።

In Practice

"I'd like to clear the air about what I said earlier."
"Let's clear the air before we end the call."
Fluent Tip

Used when digital lag causes confusion.

Lost in transmission

/ሎስት ኢን ትራንስሚሽን/

በመገናኛ ሂደት የጠፋ

Something that was said but not heard due to tech issues.

በቴክኒክ ችግር ምክንያት የተነገረ ግን ያልተሰማ ነገር።

In Practice

"I think my last point was lost in transmission."
"The instructions were lost in transmission."
Fluent Tip

Used when data or words are missed during a call.

On the same page

/ኦን ዘ ሴም ፔጅ/

በአንድ ሃሳብ ላይ መስማማት

Ensuring everyone has the same understanding during the call.

በስብሰባው ወቅት ሁሉም ሰው ተመሳሳይ ግንዛቤ እንዳለው ማረጋገጥ።

In Practice

"Are we all on the same page regarding the video settings?"
"Let's make sure we're on the same page."
Fluent Tip

Used to verify consensus.

In the dark

/ኢን ዘ ዳርክ/

ያለ መረጃ መቅረት

Being unaware of visual cues because someone's camera is off.

የአንድ ሰው ካሜራ ስለጠፋ የእይታ ምልክቶችን አለማወቅ።

In Practice

"With cameras off, I feel like I'm in the dark about your reactions."
"Don't leave me in the dark, turn on your video."
Fluent Tip

Used to request video presence or feedback.

Reading the room

/ሪዲንግ ዘ ሩም/

ሁኔታውን መረዳት

Understanding the digital atmosphere and participants' moods.

የዲጂታል ስብሰባውን ድባብ እና የተሳታፊዎችን ስሜት መረዳት።

In Practice

"It's hard reading the room through a small screen."
"Try to read the room before interrupting."
Fluent Tip

Used regarding social awareness in calls.

Cut to the chase

/ከት ቱ ዘ ቼዝ/

ወደ ዋናው ነጥብ መግባት

Getting to the point quickly because of limited call time.

በተገደበ የስብሰባ ጊዜ ምክንያት በፍጥነት ወደ ዋናው ነጥብ መሄድ።

In Practice

"The connection is unstable, so let's cut to the chase."
"I'll cut to the chase to save time."
Fluent Tip

Used to expedite a meeting.

Pick up the slack

/ፒክ አፕ ዘ ስላክ/

ክፍተትን መሙላት

Taking over when a speaker's internet fails.

የአንድ ተናጋሪ ኢንተርኔት ሲቋረጥ ንግግሩን ተረክቦ መቀጠል።

In Practice

"Since John's audio is out, I'll pick up the slack."
"Can someone pick up the slack while I fix my mic?"
Fluent Tip

Used when technical failure occurs.

A lag in the line

/ኤ ላግ ኢን ዘ ላይን/

የመስመር መዘግየት

A delay in audio or video transmission.

በድምፅ ወይም በምስል ስርጭት ላይ ያለ መዘግየት።

In Practice

"There's a lag in the line, wait a second."
"Sorry, the lag in the line made me talk over you."
Fluent Tip

Used when experiencing latency.

Touching base

/ተቺንግ ቤዝ/

መረጃ መለዋወጥ

Briefly connecting via video to update each other.

አንዱ ሌላውን ለማዘመን በአጭሩ በቪዲዮ መገናኘት።

In Practice

"Let's touch base on the audio issues tomorrow."
"I just wanted to touch base regarding the meeting link."
Fluent Tip

Used for quick check-ins.

The elephant in the room

/ዘ ኤሌፋንት ኢን ዘ ሩም/

ግልጽ ሆኖ ግን ያልተወራበት ችግር

An obvious technical problem everyone is ignoring.

ሁሉም ሰው እያየው ችላ የሚለው ግልጽ የቴክኒክ ችግር።

In Practice

"The loud background noise is the elephant in the room."
"We need to address the elephant in the room: the camera lag."
Fluent Tip

Used to point out obvious but unmentioned issues.