Most of us are using some form of video conferencing these days, and there’s a good chance you’ll use it with friends and family this Holiday Season. I’ve hosted or participated in many Zoom (and Microsoft Teams) meetings and it just seems like some of us are more comfortable and presentable in this format. My team attended a virtual Schwab conference last month where virtual conference tips were shared that I hope you can utilize in your business and personal life.
- Keep camera at eye level – not too high or low! Centered on your face, not too close (arms length away), etc. Try to mimic in-person conversation as much as possible.
- Check in every 2-4 minutes to make sure someone is staying engaged! Asking a question; getting participation – moving from delivery to dialogue!
- When using slides/screenshare: Simple is better! If there’s a lot of info, people will either listen to you or read the info; not both. A very busy slide will confuse people anyway since they are not used to seeing the information. Best practice is to put a slide up and then take it down after talking about it to re-engage.
- Keep in mind your eye communication, posture, gestures, voice, vocal variety, language, etc. Look into the camera 70-80% of the time! (Not on your screen, 2nd screen, etc.)
- Standing can be really helpful to assist with better vocal variety and energy if you can line up your webcam to your height.
- Background is a personal preference issue, but if your office/background is clean and/or purposeful, no artificial background is necessary.
- Visual positioning/appearance and voice inflection are much more important to most than words said.
My colleague, Joel Musser, shared many of these insights with our team, so I’m sharing his insights and tips with you. Zoom, Teams and other virtual meeting tools will continue to be utilized beyond the pandemic, so I hope at least a few of these tips will help you deliver an experience as close to in-person as possible.
