Choreographing Personal Connection Over Zoom

Over the last 30 days, between mock interviews and class presentations, I’ve conducted dozens of Zoom meetings/interviews. In those meetings, it has become abundantly clear that adapting your surroundings and environment to maximize the likely effectiveness of video interviews and meetings and to facilitate a genuine connection with your listener, is an important part of the preparation process. If improperly set up, the video medium becomes a barrier to genuine connection. As a result, some recommendations for these meetings follow: 

1) It is really important to be able to see your face, and your lighting will make a big difference. Avoid windows in your shot, as there is frequently a glare that makes it difficult to see you (and I can’t connect with you if I can’t see you clearly!). Overhead bright lights and operational fans can be distracting, so make sure to test with someone as to whether you’re fully visible in the lighting that you're using. Similarly, dark rooms make it difficult to see you. Lighting needs to be just right...

2) Make sure to turn your reminders and other sounds off. I’ve had many meetings that sounded like a Star Wars episode with all of the mechanical sounds that were chirping and beeping.

3) Beware of your posters in the background: posters of celebrity crushes, scantily clad people and middle school sports say: "I'm really young".

4) Professionalism matters. A clean desk with a desk chair can lend an air of seriousness and purpose to your communication. Beds won't. No beds in the shot if you can avoid it. Really…

5) White/light walls with bright lighting can be an extremely effective backdrop -- try it!

6) Avoid speaking with your computer in your lap. It tends to shake, causing your picture to bounce around, or for your picture to be lopsided. No one likes a crooked painting -- same effect on video if your screen isn’t level.

7) The vast majority of my students doing mock interviews and presentations did not make eye contact. Eye contact is especially hard on Zoom and it takes practice- make sure to look at the camera, not at the videos, while you’re speaking! If you’re using two monitors, make sure you know which monitor looks at me and avoid looking at the other monitor, even when I’m speaking rather than you. If I’m speaking and you look at the “other” monitor, on my end it looks like you’re looking away from me and distracted when I’m speaking. And that makes me feel bad. If you make me feel bad, I’m not going to connect with you.

8) Be careful on Zoom if you’re going to share your screen with your interviewer. You are sharing your full desktop with whatever is open. Make sure you want me to see what you show me!

9) Make sure to type your full name to identify yourself, capitalizing the first letter in your first and last name. "Timmy" or "maryjones" isn't selling you.

10) Voice intonation is even more important over video than in person. Monotone can be really dull on video. You'll want to practice being as animated, but professional, as you can. Check your sound as well to make sure you can be heard clearly. Also, just like in person, smiling really helps to add warmth.

11) Check to make sure your wi-fi is up to handling Zoom meetings. Regular freezes won’t help connection with your listener. If you’re somewhere with high internet traffic, for an important interview, consider using your negotiation skills to convince your family/housemates to schedule a brief wi-fi break during your interview.

12) If you are in a Zoom waiting room before your meeting, just remember that you may be let in at any moment. I've found students smoking, talking to people not in the meeting, and in various states of grooming and unreadiness when I've joined them in. Be ready to start the meeting at any time that you're in a waiting room. Or even better, keep your video and sound off until you've been let in. Speaking of grooming…

14) You should look professional and neat. Informational interviews may not require business professional attire, though a super day interview for Wall Street probably would, but you should look like you’ve exerted effort to impress with your attire. Grooming is more of a problem for students on Zoom than I would have thought. This may come as a shock to some of you, but there are razors and hair brushes in quarantine. Use them!! Your face is all you have on video—use your tools, people!! Similarly, collared shirts and blouses are your friend. Even though you’re home and accustomed to being comfortable in that environment, avoid t-shirts, hoodies, and other informal clothing.

15) It can be helpful to set up your computer so that it is slightly higher than where you are sitting/standing. You don’t want your computer below you because you are then looking down at the camera, causing the person watching to see you looking down at them and right into your nose. Not an ideal look…

16) Backgrounds matter. Remember that, on Zoom, you can use a virtual background. If you choose to do that, select one that is neutral and non-distracting. If you like to travel and discuss that topic in interviews, you can select a well known city that you’ve visited, hoping the interviewer will have been there too. I’ve seen backgrounds of San Francisco, Rio, and Paris that have been non-distracting and good conversation starters. You’ll need to check your lighting though, so that your ears don't come in and out of the screen. When that happens, I can't help but fixate on that and I stop listening. If you’d prefer to use your actual background, that can be more personal. But as I mentioned above, be careful about where you are. Did I mention no beds in the shot?? That one’s worth repeating…

As with all aspects of interviewing, practice, practice, practice. Find a friend and, rather than focus on content (you need to do that too, but that’s a different article!), focus on the logistics of your video environment- good lighting, good background, good eye contact, good sound. Put that together, and you maximize the likelihood that your video medium will enhance your connection with the listener!

Mark Shapiro is an Associate Professor of Professional Practice in Business Law and Academic Director of Career Resources for the Miami Herbert Business School. From 1997-2015, he was a partner at the law firm of Akerman LLP, a national law firm of more than 700 lawyers, and practiced as a litigator in the areas of insurance coverage and bad faith, ERISA and contract/tort disputes. He also served as Akerman's National Associate Development Partner, responsible for coordinating the development, training, mentoring, compensation and promotion of Akerman's associate lawyers and responsible for hiring and management of Akerman's Summer Program for law students.  Professor Shapiro earned his J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and his B.A. in Economics from Swarthmore College.