Use the best Internet connection you can
In general, wired connections are better than wireless connections, and wireless connections are better than cellular based connections. Plan ahead for Video Conferencing meetings, and as often as possible, join Video Conference calls from locations where you have access to the best Internet connection you can manage.
Communicate with the host of the meeting
If you know ahead of time that you will be on a slow or otherwise insufficient connection, let your instructor or host know, usually via chat, so they can adjust the meeting if necessary.
Mute your microphone
While your microphone is on, the video conferencing software is sending an audio stream, even if it consists of no usable audio. Similarly, when everyone in the meeting has their microphone on, you are downloading their audio through your connection. If only the person speaking has their microphone on, the minimum amount of data is being transferred and the connection will remain stable.
Turn off your camera
If the instructor, moderator or meeting host is ok with you doing so, turn off your camera in the meeting until you need it Much like the audio stream, not all video is usable, however, you are sending it/downloading it all as part of the meeting connection. Turning off your camera does have some impact on visual communication; if everyone has their video off, it's harder to tell when someone is reacting to what is being said.
Setup the meeting to support muted audio and turned off video
If you are hosting a video conference/meeting, setup the meeting to allow the participates to turn off their audio and video. This will improve the bandwidth usage if any participants are experiencing a slow or degraded connection.
BigBlueButton - https://carleton.ca/brightspace/instructors/managing-a-bigbluebutton-session/ (not all features listed may be available in TRU's offering of BBB)
Microsoft Teams - https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/manage-attendee-audio-and-video-permissions-in-teams-meetings-f9db15e1-f46f-46da-95c6-34f9f39e671a
Zoom - https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/200941109-Participant-controls-in-a-meeting
Turn off enhanced video settings
Video conferencing tools are setup to use the best video possible at the start of the meeting. Depending on your audience and participation, this may be set too high for them and start to cause issues if they are on a lower bandwidth connection. You can use the program settings to change your video resolution to help mitigate this
Avoid other Internet Activity
Video Conferencing tools compete with the other applications running on your device for both processing power and Internet bandwidth. Before starting your meeting, turn off any unneeded applications or processes, such as data backups or anti-virus scans. Also consider other users on your network: if you're at home, another person streaming Netflix in another room will impact your connection.