Top 10 Tips
With The Lockdown And Government Rules In Place To Help Reduce The Spread Of Covid-19. So Many Meetings And Businesses Have Moved Online Because Of Remote Working Arrangements.
Here Are Our Top Ten Tips To Help You Present Effectively And Professionally When Using Zoom, Skype, Teams Or Any Other Video Conferencing Software.
Tip One
Look At The Camera
It May Sound Obvious, But It’S Easy To Forget To Look At The Camera.
When You Look At The Camera, The People Watching You Will Feel Like
You Are Looking At Them, Maintaining Eye Contact And Paying Them
Attention.
Video Conferences Are More Effective When People Can See Each
Other’S Facial Expressions And Body Language
When You Look Down Or Off To One Side It Will Appear To The Other
People On The Call That You Are Not Paying Attention.
If You Are Using Two Screens, Make Sure The Main Documents You Need
To Refer To Or Type Into Are On The Same Screen Where The Camera Is
Located – This Will Help Keep Your Face Pointed Towards The Camera.
Tip Two
Good Lighting
Adding Some Extra Light Makes A Big Difference To The Picture Quality.
Straight-On Lighting Is Best For Video Calls, This Ensures Your Face Is Well
Illuminated And Clearly Visible. A Desk Lamp Positioned Behind The
Screen Pointing At Your Face Will Illuminate You Clearly.
Using Natural Light From The Window To Fill In The Sides Also Creates
Pleasing, Accurate Skin Tones In The Camera And Renders Accurate
Colours.
Tip Three
Use Headphones
If You Use The Mic And Speakers Built Into Your Laptop There Is
A Much Greater Danger Of Echo Or Feedback. This Happens
When The Mic Can ‘Hear’ Itself Through The Speakers On The
Laptop. You Can Solve This Easily By Plugging Some
Headphones Into Your Computer.
The Earbuds That Came With Your Phone Will Work Fine – And
Have The Added Bonus Of A Built In Mic Which Is Close To Your
Mouth And So You Will Sound Better.
Tip Four
Test And Practice Ahead Of Time
If You Are Not Familiar With The Software You Are Using, Make
Some Time To Test And Practice Before The Call. In The Software
Settings Make Sure The Correct Camera, Mic And Speakers Are
Selected.
If You Plan To Use Screen Sharing In Order To Show Powerpoint
Slides Or Other Documents, Be Sure To Test This Before The Call.
Especially On Macs, You Sometimes Have To Change The Security
Settings Before You Can Share The Screen And This Requires The
Software To Be Restarted – Which Will Hang Up The Call.
Tip Five
Quiet On Set
Turn Off Any Background Noise Such As Fans, Washing
Machines Or Music.
If You Have A Dog, A Cat, A Guinea Pig, Or Any Other Animal
That Can Get Loud Or “In The Way” At Times, They’Re Probably
Going To Want To “Participate” In Your Conversations As Soon
As They Hear A Little Bit Of Commotion.
Similarly, Kids Can Get Pretty Distracting During A Meeting,
Even If They’Re Outside The Room.
Tip Six
Speak Like You
If You Are Presenting, Use Language, Vocabulary And Sentence
Structures That Match How You Usually Speak. You Should Aim To
Sound More Like Your Everyday Speaking, Not Like You Are Reading A
Magazine Article That Someone Else Has Written.
Aim For A Conversational Style Of Speaking, With Pauses And Changes
In Your Tone Of Voice.
If Someone Else Has Written The Script For You, Take Some Time To
Adapt It So That It Sounds More Like You. This Will Have The Greatest
Effect On Your Ability To Speak To The Camera Comfortably And
Successfully.
Tip Seven
Stretch Before Exercise
Just Like You Would Stretch Before Going For A Run, You Need To
Warm Up For Vocal Cords And Muscles For A Few Minutes Before
You Start Speaking Live On Camera – Especially If You Are
Recording First Thing In The Morning.
Hum, Sing Or Recite Your Speech To Warm Up Your Vocals.
Tip Eight
Stay Energised
The Camera Magnifies What It Sees, So If Your Energy Level Starts
To Flag, You Will Look Doubly Tired On Camera. Keep A Snack On
Hand To Boost Your Energy Levels.
Stay Lubricated And Drink Water Regularly To Avoid Dry Mouth But
Avoid Ice Cold Water
Tip Nine
Watch Those Hands
If You Wave Your Hands In Front Of The Camera, They Will Look
Comically Huge And Could Cause The Camera To Re-Focus On
Them – Making Your Face A Blur.
Keep Your Hands Out Of Shot As Much As Possible.
Tip Ten
Minimize Presentation Length
The Only Thing Worse Than A Long Presentation In Person Is A Long
Presentation During A Virtual Meeting.
Background Information Should Be Provided Beforehand. If You
Need To Present, Use Screen Sharing To Guide The Conversation, So
Attendees Can Literally “Be On The Same Page.” But Prioritize
Conversation To Maximize The Time People Are Looking At Each
Other.
Any Questions? Please Feel Free To Email:
Info@Susanfajanathomas.Me