Our guide to being a video conferencing superstar!
We’ve ticked off tips to navigate working from home efficiently, boosting your business social media accounts, and how to plan for a video interview. These can all help you keep on growing professionally while working remotely. Now, the conference call.
Working from home can present some challenges, one of which may include losing the ease of meeting face-to-face with clients and colleagues. Being able to present decks clearly can be a pain when it is a tenth of the size on a computer screen. If it’s just you that needs to present however, you still need to look presentable.
It may be easy to jump on a FaceTime with friends and have a joke in your pyjamas, but moving up the ranks to video conference calls via Zoom, Skype, Google Hangouts and the like clearly requires a bit more professionalism. (Pyjamas can still be involved!)
Here are our tips on video conference call best practice:
Find the best spot to take the call, whether it be at your desk or not.
Find a neutral-coloured, naturally-lit background. Easy! If this is a problem, add light by moving in a lamp to illuminate the area where you’ll be sitting. Got one of those ring lights lying around? Put it behind your laptop or computer monitor! How’s that for multi-use? It’s important that your face is well-lit, and you don’t have a bright background, like a window with direct sunlight.
Sound is another key thing to consider when being a part of a video conference.
Have your neighbours got a lonely dog that doesn’t stop barking? Got noisy birds nesting nearby? Or are your housemates not working from home whatsoever? Get away! Find a quiet space to host your side of the video call. We’ve also discovered after our many video conferences in the last week that wearing headphones/earphones absolutely helps sound quality and sound reception. Simply just turning up your laptop’s sound to full volume isn’t going to cut it. Computer mics shut themselves off when their speakers are blasting (this is called a noise gate). Invest in a pair if you don’t already-- ideally noise cancelling ones to block out those birds.
Do what your mum taught you and sit up straight!
Poor posture is an instant body language sign for disinterest, whether you are disinterested or not. Sit in a chair to help this. Roll your shoulders back, straighten your spine and keep your hands in your lap. No fist under chin allowed! Sit so the camera is at eye level, so you’re looking directly into the screen correctly, and therefore looking at who you’re talking to. Oh, and smile. Fake it if you have to.
Be professional on the top, and party on the bottom.
You should be dressing up on top in work attire, so throw on a shirt or neat looking jumper if need be. Given that you’re sitting down in the camera frame, wear whatever makes you feel comfortable as bottoms as it will likely be unseen. Depending on your lighting situation, you may like to put on some make-up to look extra presentable. Brush your hair too! Best thing to do is pretend you’re actually meeting in a meeting rather than meeting online. Get it?
Finally, etiquette.
They’re those unspoken rules that everyone knows. Video conferencing faux pas can include leaving your microphone on and having a conversation because you’re bored with the meeting; acting more informally because the meeting is via video; or honestly, ignoring the tips above!
Mute your microphone when you're not talking, but stay attentive so you know when you need to switch it back on to speak and contribute. Video conferencing isn’t the time to multi-task: focus on what is going on now, and then move on to the next task afterwards.