Pre-Session Testing Routine
Run this before every paid session. It takes less time than you think, and it catches the most common problems.
30 Minutes Before
Check your internet connection. Go to fast.com or speedtest.net and run a test. You want at minimum 10 Mbps upload and 10 Mbps download for a stable video call. 25 Mbps or more gives you a buffer. If you're under 5 Mbps upload, your video will degrade. Switch to a wired ethernet connection if you have one.
Close every application you don't need. Browsers with 40 tabs, Slack notifications, cloud sync running in the background, software updates queued up. Close them all. Video calls are resource-intensive. Every competing process is a potential source of lag or audio dropout.
Check your camera and microphone. Use your platform's built-in test function (Talkspresso has one), or record a quick 30-second clip and play it back. Listen for background noise, echo, or crackling. Look at the lighting. Is your face visible?
Send yourself a test link. Join your own session from a second device (phone or tablet works). Can you see yourself? Can you hear yourself? Is the video quality acceptable? This is the only true test of what your client will experience.
10 Minutes Before
Restart your router if you haven't in the past week. This clears accumulated cruft and often improves connection stability.
Charge your devices. A laptop that suddenly needs to switch to battery mode while managing a resource-intensive video call will throttle CPU performance. Stay plugged in.
Have your backup ready. We'll cover backup plans in detail below, but you should know before the session starts what your fallback is if the main setup fails.
Silence notifications. System alerts, email popups, phone calls, app pings. All of it. A notification sound bleeding into a quiet moment in your session is unprofessional. A full-screen alert that interrupts your screen share is worse.
Common Technical Issues and Fast Fixes
When something goes wrong in real time, you don't have time to Google it. Here's what to try first for the most common problems.
Audio Problems
Client can't hear you (or you sound muffled)
First check: Is the correct microphone selected in your platform's settings? Many systems default to the built-in laptop microphone after an update, even if you have an external mic plugged in. Open the audio settings and confirm the right device is selected.
Second check: Are you muted? Not in the obvious way. Some keyboards have hardware mute keys that suppress the microphone at the system level, separate from your app's mute button. Tap the mic key once and try speaking.
Third: Quit the session, unplug and re-plug your microphone, and rejoin. This resolves driver issues about half the time.
Echo or feedback
This is almost always a speaker/microphone loop. Your microphone is picking up your own voice coming through your speakers. Fix: Switch to headphones with a built-in mic, or use the noise cancellation feature if your platform has one. If neither works, lower your speaker volume significantly.
Choppy or cutting out audio
Audio dropout is usually a bandwidth or CPU issue. Close any apps not needed for the session. Ask your client to disable their video temporarily (audio uses far less bandwidth than video). If it continues, both of you disabling video and switching to audio-only often resolves choppy calls completely.
Video Problems
Camera not detected
This is often a permissions problem. Go to your system privacy settings (System Settings on Mac, Privacy Settings on Windows) and confirm your browser or app has camera access. If it does, the fix is usually to quit the app completely and relaunch it. A full system restart resolves this for the stubborn cases.
Blurry or low-quality video
Your platform or system is auto-reducing video quality due to available bandwidth. Close every other app and browser tab. Ask your client if their connection is stable. If quality is still poor, acknowledge it early: "My video quality looks a bit rough from my end. I'm going to trouble-shoot the connection briefly." This sets expectations rather than leaving them wondering why you look pixelated.
Frozen video
A frozen frame that doesn't resolve within 10 seconds means the connection has effectively stalled. Leave the session and rejoin. Most platforms support rejoining a live session without disrupting anything. Tell your client via chat before you leave: "My video just froze on my end. Leaving and rejoining now, be back in 30 seconds."
Connectivity Issues
Repeated disconnections
If you're dropping and reconnecting multiple times, your Wi-Fi connection is unstable. Move physically closer to your router. Switch to a wired ethernet connection if possible. If neither is available, switch your phone to a hotspot and connect your computer to it. Mobile hotspot speeds are often more stable than congested residential Wi-Fi.
Platform won't load
Check your browser is up to date. Try a different browser. Chrome and Firefox tend to have the most reliable WebRTC support (the technology underlying most browser-based video calls). If the platform is Talkspresso, the video infrastructure is built for reliability with automatic reconnection handling, but the browser still needs to be modern and up to date.
Black screen in the video room
Leave the session. Clear your browser cache (Settings > Clear Browsing Data). Rejoin. This resolves the vast majority of black screen issues.
Building Your Backup Plan
Every professional who runs paid sessions should have a backup plan ready before the session starts. Not after things go wrong. Before.
A backup plan is not "figure it out in the moment." It's a specific, pre-tested alternative you can activate in under two minutes.
Backup Option 1: Alternative Video Platform
Have a backup meeting link ready for every session. This could be a Zoom room, Google Meet, or any other platform you have a paid account on. Keep a generic link (not time-specific) saved somewhere accessible.
When your primary session fails and can't be resolved in 2-3 minutes, text or email your client: "My connection to our session is having issues. Let's switch to [platform]. Here's the link: [URL]. See you there in 2 minutes."
This gets the session back on track fast. Your client came prepared to have a conversation with you. Most are happy to switch platforms if it means the session happens.
Backup Option 2: Phone Call
Have your client's phone number before every session. Get it in the intake form or confirmation email. When video fails entirely, a phone call salvages the session.
Phone calls are underrated as backups. You lose the visual element, but the conversation continues. For coaching, consulting, and most one-on-one sessions, the conversation is the session. You can deliver full value over the phone.
Contact your client before they've been waiting more than five minutes: "My setup is having serious connection issues. Can I call you directly? My number is [number] or I can call you at [their number]." Most clients will appreciate the hustle to keep the session going.
Backup Option 3: Reschedule with a Makeup Session
If the backup platforms also fail (rare, but it happens, usually during major internet outages), the right move is to reschedule and offer additional time.
"My internet is completely down today. I'm sorry this is happening during your paid session. I'd like to reschedule and give you [original time + 15 minutes] at no extra charge for the inconvenience. Would [specific date and time] work for you?"
This turns a frustrating experience into a demonstration of your professionalism. Clients remember how you handled the problem more than they remember that the problem happened.
Communicating With Your Client in the Moment
What you say during a technical problem matters as much as how you fix it. The wrong communication (silence, vague apologies, blaming the platform) damages the relationship. The right communication keeps trust intact.
What to Say
When you first notice a problem:
"I'm having a brief tech issue on my end. Give me 30 seconds to fix it."
Quick, calm, takes ownership. Don't say "I don't know what's happening" or "This platform is terrible." Say you're handling it.
When you need to leave and rejoin:
"My connection dropped. I'm going to leave and rejoin. I'll be back in under a minute."
Always tell them before you leave. Disappearing without warning feels like you disconnected and abandoned the session.
When you're switching platforms:
"Let's move to [platform] for today. Here's the link: [URL]. Meet me there."
No lengthy explanation needed. Give them the action. People appreciate decisiveness during disruptions.
When the problem can't be fixed:
"I'm dealing with a complete connection failure on my end. This isn't something I can resolve in the next few minutes. Let me make this right. [Refund/reschedule offer]."
Direct, no excuses, and immediately pivoting to the solution.
Use Every Channel Available
If video fails, try in-session chat. If chat is down too, text them directly (use the phone number from their intake form). If you don't have their number, email is your fallback.
The worst outcome is your client sitting in silence for ten minutes while you frantically troubleshoot with no communication. Even a brief message in the chat that says "Working on fixing this, hold on" is better than nothing.
Setting Expectations Before Sessions
The clients who handle technical disruptions best are the ones who had expectations set in advance. Include a brief line in your confirmation email:
"If we experience any technical issues, we'll troubleshoot together. I have backup plans including [backup platform or phone call] to make sure our session happens. If for any reason the session can't be completed, I'll reschedule at no charge."
This does two things. It signals that you've thought about this. And it preemptively reframes any disruption as "we handle this together" rather than "the coach's technology failed."
Refund Policies for Technical Failures
Having a clear policy before a problem occurs is much better than making a judgment call in the moment when you're already stressed.
Here's a framework that protects your revenue while keeping clients happy:
Partial Session (Technical Issues Mid-Session)
If you delivered 50% or more of the session before the technical failure, offer a proportional session credit toward their next booking rather than a full refund. Example: You completed 25 minutes of a 45-minute session. Offer a 20-minute credit on their next session.
Most clients who got real value in the first half of the session won't ask for a full refund. But offering something proactively (even before they ask) builds significant trust.
Session Never Started (Technical Failure Before 10 Minutes)
If the session never meaningfully started due to technical issues on your end, offer a full reschedule at no charge, or a full refund if they prefer.
Note: If you successfully switched to a backup platform and completed the session, no refund is due. The session happened. The medium changed, but the value was delivered.
Client's Technical Issues
This is worth noting in your booking policy: if the client's technology fails (their internet goes down, their computer crashes), and you were present and ready, you are not obligated to issue a full refund. You can offer to reschedule, but you were ready to provide the service.
A reasonable policy: first-time occurrence, offer a reschedule as goodwill. Repeat occurrence, apply standard cancellation terms.
Be human about this. A client whose internet went down because of a storm deserves more grace than a client who called in from their phone and didn't test the connection first.
Where to Document Your Policy
Your technical issues policy should be visible at booking. Add a brief note to your booking page and confirmation email. Talkspresso lets you customize the booking confirmation message, which is a good place to set expectations around both cancellations and technical contingencies in one place.
Not all video platforms are built the same. Consumer tools like Zoom and Google Meet work well for free or casual calls, but they're not optimized for paid professional sessions. They're optimized for volume.
Talkspresso's video infrastructure is built specifically for paid sessions between creators, coaches, and their clients. The platform uses Vonage's video stack, which is the same enterprise-grade infrastructure used by major enterprise applications. Automatic reconnection handling, stable session persistence, and browser-based access (no downloads required for your clients) reduce the surface area for technical failures.
This doesn't mean nothing will ever go wrong. But it does mean the baseline reliability is higher, and the recovery when issues do occur is faster. For sessions where money is on the line, that matters.
Quick Reference: Tech Issue Response Playbook
Save this. Print it if you need to. When things go wrong, you won't want to remember a five-paragraph explanation.
Audio issues: Check selected microphone in settings. Unmute (including hardware mute key). Unplug and replug mic. Rejoin session.
Video frozen or poor quality: Leave session, rejoin. Close all background apps. Ask client to disable video temporarily.
Can't connect at all: Switch browser. Try Chrome or Firefox. Clear cache. Restart router. Switch to hotspot.
Under 2 minutes since issue started: Work the fix. Tell your client you're on it.
2-5 minutes in: Activate backup. Switch to backup platform or phone call. Tell your client in chat or text.
Over 5 minutes, no resolution: Reschedule and make it right with extra time or credit.
Communicate: Always tell your client what you're doing. Silence is the worst response to a tech failure.
Building a Reputation for Professionalism
Here's the counterintuitive truth about technical issues: how you handle them can actually strengthen your relationship with clients.
Everyone knows technology fails sometimes. Clients are not shocked when a video call has a glitch. What they're watching for is how you respond. Do you panic? Do you go silent? Do you blame the platform? Or do you stay calm, communicate clearly, fix the problem fast, and make it right?
The coaches and creators who handle disruptions professionally report that clients often mention it in testimonials. "When we had a tech issue, they handled it so professionally" is a real thing people say. It's a differentiator.
Prepare before every session. Have your backup ready. Know what you'll say if something goes wrong. And when something does go wrong, handle it the way a professional handles problems: calmly, decisively, and with the client's experience as the priority.
Your technology doesn't have to be perfect. Your response to imperfect technology does.
See how creators use Talkspresso to monetize their audience with paid video calls, or compare 9 platforms for paid video calls.
See how creators use Talkspresso to monetize their audience with paid video calls, or compare 9 platforms for paid video calls.
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