Top Tips for better video conferencing

It's pretty hard to find anyone these days who hasn't used the video conferencing platform, Zoom. However, if you asked this question just a few weeks ago, many people would not have even heard of it. This has lead to quite a sharp learning curve for many in using new software and allowing technology to bridge our day to day activities and relationships. From an events perspective, we have witnessed varying degrees of quality in multi-person zoom meetings.

For that reason I want to share a few tips that will help improve the experience for everyone.

1. Mute all the participants. If the session has a large number of people in it then it is a good idea for everyone to have their microphones muted except for the person speaking. The host has the ability to mute everyone, you can then let the participants unmute themselves or unmute everyone as you see fit.
2. Screen sharing is a brilliant feature as it allows you to share powerpoint etc. It can be tricky to carry out smoothly, especially if you only have a single screen. The following process will ensure that the transition to powerpoint is always smooth and professional even if you only have one screen. Ideally before the meeting starts (however you can do it in the background) open up the power point presentation and run it as if it were on a big screen. Then, hold down ALT ( CMD on a Mac) and tap the Tab button to select zoom.

Now that you're in Zoom with Powerpoint running in the background, when it comes to the time to share your screen in Zoom, you simply select the option for the powerpoint show, as shown in the image below.

This will make the powerpoint presentation live on the screen share without crashing to your desktop. You can even switch between powerpoint presentations. From the open presentation use the shortcut cmd+ esc (I haven't tested this in windows but I would assume it will be ALT+escape) you can then select the next presentation. Ideally, the next presentation will already be open and when you run the slide show it will switch to being the screen share. If you exit the presentation, the screen share will stop.

3. Virtual backgrounds are brilliant. With many people in a position where they have to work from their kitchen table or in the lounge etc it can be difficult to get a decent background. With virtual background this is not a problem, as it will 'key' your image onto a virtual background. This can be accessed from the preferences by going to virtual background option. If you are already logged into a meeting and want to add a virtual background, then hover over your window and in the top right hand corner three dots will appear, click on these and the virtual background option will be there. You can use one of the preset images or videos or upload one of you're own.

4. Set your screen name. This is useful for large groups especially if you do not know everyone. This can also be accessed by the three dots in the top right corner of you're screen.

5.Make your video as good as possible. Getting the correct look on your video is important to make sure that other participants are engaged. Getting the angle right is crucial. This is especially true if you're accessing via a phone. Try to avoid having the phone sat to low so that the view is of your chin - this is not how people are used to seeing you. It's also important to get the lighting correct. Try to sit with as much light on your face as possible as this will allow the camera to pick up your features more clearly. Avoid sitting with your back to a window as this will affect the camera making faces appear really dark and in shadow, even if it's not dark in the room. Try to avoid being too close to the camera as this can be off putting. This article has some great options for making sure you're video content is as good as it cam be.

6.Distractions will occur. Whilst working from home its almost impossible to avoid all distractions especially if you have young children. The important thing is to try to make sure that there are no distractions and if they do occur then deal with them quickly and sensibly in order to have minimal impact on disrupting the group. If you need to step away briefly then make sure you're camera is off and microphone muted.

7.Polling. This is a brilliant feature for larger groups. It requires you going into your online account and activating polling. When you start a future meeting you will have a polling option appear on your bottom task bar allowing you to create and share polls with all participants.

8.Enable HD Video. By default HD video is not enabled which is great for slower connections. If however there is no problem with your internet speed then enabling HD video, which is accessed from the preferences - video - camera - enable HD.

9. Make sure you're connected. Typically the first thing to go on a video chat, if the connection is poor, is the audio and when someones audio is cutting in and out it can be very frustrating for everyone listening. As such, make sure your internet connection is as good as possible. If you know that one particular spot in your house has weak wifi then avoid that spot. If you are struggling with slow internet at home then have a look at this article about how I managed to go from 1-2 mbs to nearly 100 mbs for a very reasonably amount of money.

10.Get used to this. You may have avoided video calls prior to the Covid-19 crisis and suddenly you've had no other option. You may still have reservations and think that "you don't look great on video". It is something that we all need to become comfortable with. The world has changed and whilst lockdown will be eased and eventually lifted, life will get back to a relative normal. Except eyes are now fully open to the possibilities of video meetings and then amount of time and money saved by not introducing other costs such as travel. So whilst there will be face to face meetings again, there will be a lot more video meetings than there were previously.

Jonny Fulton is the Founder and MD of FoxWylie Creative a full service Events agency with a head office in Milton Keynes we support companies world wide providing Event Management, Event Production and Content Creation. For more information about our services or advice on how to make running events simpler please reach out and connect with us via our website and our social media channels.