How to be a Video Call Pro

People all over the country are discovering the highs and lows of video conferencing.  It helps you connect with friends and family, you feel less alone, and you can keep in touch with your co-workers and to-do lists while working from home.  But things like Zoom and Microsoft Teams are new to a lot of us.  Letting people into our homes, trying to look refreshed and presentable at a conference call while your unmade bed and bedhead fill the screen is not really super professional.    So here are some tips to help you can put your best face forward.

Light your face

It’s best to start with lighting because that will dictate where you are sitting. Open up your shades and let the natural light pour in, but don’t let all that light hit your back. I recommend having your largest light source either right in front of you or no more than 45 degrees away from directly in front of you. Also be aware that your screen can be a large source of light, so adjust your screen brightness, too, especially if you are taking a call without natural light. A bright screen can blow the highlights on your face out, making you look more like Casper the Ghost than a video calling champion.

Raise your camera

There is one, and only one, acceptable camera angle: head-on and at eye level. Your table is almost certainly going to be lower than your face, and that means people are going to get an unflattering look up at you. Use a set of books, a stool, or a higher table to make sure your camera is at the same level as your eyes. You don’t want people to feel like they are looking up or down at you.

Test your video before the call

You want to show up to your meeting already looking good so that you’re not adjusting your surroundings, screen brightness, angle, or hair live for everyone to see. Both Zoom and WebEx have an option for showing you a preview of your video before the call starts. If you select this option, a video preview will pop up before you enter a call to check how everything looks. Skype will show you this preview by default, but when using other videoconferencing apps, such as Houseparty, you can also Photobooth to check your video before entering a call.

Once the call starts, try hiding your video preview from yourself. Not only will you be less prone to fixing your hair or moving the angle during the call, you will also be less distracting to yourself and others. You can do that in Zoom by right clicking on your own video window and choosing “hide myself.” It can be easy to forget you’re on camera without your video preview, though, so try not to pick your nose.

Find a quiet place (and your best headphones)

Most of us don’t have a great deal of control over audio, but you’ll sound better if you take a call in a quiet place. Also keep in mind that your headphones might have a better mic than your computer. Most videoconferencing apps have a tool in their settings for testing your mic, and I recommend collecting all the mics in your house (headphones often have one built in) and testing them out to find the one that sounds clearest.

As a courtesy to others, please keep your mic muted unless you are talking. You might be used to your neighbor’s midday thrash metal, but no one else is. In Zoom, you can keep yourself on mute and use the feature that lets you unmute yourself while holding down the space bar just while you’re speaking.  Release the space bar and you’re back on mute.

Get comfortable

Much like being in a physical meeting, once you join a call, you shouldn’t be getting up and moving around. Start with a comfortable place to sit or stand for a long period of time. Although you may like to sit on your fluffy throw rug, sitting crossed leg for more than 20 minutes might give you a cramp. If you are using a laptop, have a charger plugged in and ready for when your battery gets low. Have a water bottle handy at your meeting if you have a tendency to get dry mouth.

And finally: stay professional, even when you haven’t gotten out of your sweatpants in two weeks.

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Photo Credit:  Girts Ragelis / Shutterstock.com