9 Tips To Look Your Best On A Video Call

It’s the little things that will make you look so much more professional on your next video call. Here are our top tips to look great on video calls whether’s a virtual meeting with a prospect, a team meeting, delivering virtual training, or doing a video interview.

Good Sound

Often bad video can be excused, but if the person on the other end of the camera can’t hear you or understand you, you’re in trouble. And you don’t need an expensive microphone to sound a lot better on your next video call.

Use the mic on your headphones, or Airbuds work great.

Adequate Lighting

Your video quality will drastically improve if you have good lighting, especially when using webcams that get pixelated in low lighting. Place a table lamp on your desk to light your face or use an LED video light. We use 2 lights on the sides of the face to avoid glare in glasses, but many people like ring lights if you want to get fancy.

Hardwire When Possible

The worst thing that can happen on a video call is buffering and freezing video. To avoid connectivity issues, hardwire your computer to your router whenever possible.

Also do a speed test to check if you’re hitting your maximum internet speed. Often old cables and routers will slow down your internet without you knowing it and a simple upgrade of cables or router could drastically increase your internet speed.

Place Your Camera At Eye Level

The positioning of your camera will make a big difference to how professional your video looks. Nothing screams amateur more than someone looking down at the camera on their laptop.

Raise your laptop up on books if needed so you aren’t looking down at your laptop camera.

Clean Backdrop

Skip the cheesy green screen backdrops and choose a clean background instead. Many people can achieve clean and professional looking backdrops simply by placing their desk to have a wall behind them instead of a messy room.

Start the call early

We always recommend that you begin the call early and turn on your video before other people arrive. That way, you can see exactly what you and your background look like.

Set expectations

An easy way to ensure your customer is ready for your video meeting is to clarify that it will be video-based in your calendar invite. That way, you increase the chances of them also turning their camera on too – it’s hard to connect when you have your video on – while theirs is off.

Smile

Customers naturally look for reassurance in your expressions and reactions, mainly when they’re opening up to you about their needs and challenges. So ensure your expression is relaxed, friendly and open with a calm smile.

Mirror body language

By mirroring your customer’s body language, you actually create an unconscious bond that leads to stronger relationships. However, act naturally. Otherwise, you’ll come off as weird at best and disingenuous at worst.

Bonus Video Conferencing Tip: Turn Off All Other Programs

Nothing is more distracting during a call than the ping of a new email or text message. Turning off all other programs besides the video platform you’re using also ensures your computer isn’t slowed down by them. Often times you can have fast internet, but your computer still freezes because it can’t handle the demands of the video conferencing software.

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