How to Look and Sound Good in Online Meetings

By Graham Skerritt

Are you presenting yourself as professionally as you should in online meetings? Sadly, a lot of people create a bad impression by failing to follow basic good practice. Here are some tips to make sure this isn’t you:

Tip 1: Find a suitable location

Before you join an online meeting, find a quiet part of your house or office where you will not be interrupted, and you can concentrate on the meeting.

To be able to participate fully in an online meeting, you need your full attention to be on the call. This means you should find a location where you won’t get distracted by what’s around you. In other words, avoid open plan offices, busy coffee shops, and televisions.

Tip 2: Set up your webcam correctly

Surprisingly, a large number of people are still unable to set up their webcams properly for online meetings. This makes it seem like they are either careless or they cannot use basic technology.

Here are some common mistakes to avoid:

X?Don’t only show the top of your head?– people want to see your face and it’s easier to see who is talking if people can see your mouth

X?Don’t point your webcam at the side of your face?– or people will think you’re looking at something else

X?Don’t have the camera look up or down at you?– neither are very flattering and both look very strange

Most video conferencing applications allow you to preview how you will look before you join the meeting, so take advantage of this to check that people will be able to see you properly.

Place your webcam next to or on top of your monitor, sit straight on to the computer, and position your face so your eyes are slightly above the centre of the screen.

Remember also that you should be looking in the direction of the camera as you speak. It may help to place the window for the meeting application directly below your webcam. This way, you will naturally be looking towards the camera as you look at your screen.

???Sit straight on and look towards the camera as you speak

Tip 3: Check what’s behind you

Before you join an online meeting, look carefully at what’s behind you and what impression it creates. Do you really want everyone to see your messy bedroom?

Another bad choice is to sit in front of a window or another bright light. If you do this, the camera will make you look very dark and people will not be able to see your face.

X?Don’t forget to check what’s behind you?– a messy room creates a bad impression

X?Don’t sit in front of a window?– or people won’t be able to see your face

A better idea is to position yourself in front of a wall or a bookshelf – something that will look tidy and not distract the other meeting participants.

If you can’t do that, many video conferencing platforms provide virtual backgrounds to hide what’s behind you. Choose a professional looking office background – and avoid anything animated, because this may be distracting for the other participants.

Tip 4: Get the lighting right

To help your fellow online meeting participants see you properly, make sure you are in a brightly lit room. Don’t sit in a room with all the lights off, hoping that your face will be lit up by your computer screen. It won’t.

In fact, if you attend a lot of online meetings, you may want to consider purchasing a special light – sometimes called a webcam light. Many of these have ring-shaped lights that plug into your computer. They spread the light evenly over your face and ensure that you can be seen clearly.

Tip 5: Avoid locations with background noise

As well as thinking about what people can see behind you, you need to think about what they can hear. Background noise can be incredibly distracting for the other participants, as it likely sounds much louder for them than it is does for you.

Watch out for things like the clattering of plates from the kitchen, people having a conversation nearby, and dogs that bark a lot – all things that have disturbed meetings that I have attended!

However, perhaps the worst thing is to have another meeting participant sitting near you with their own computer – this will cause participants to hear everything either of you say with an echo. And if the computers are close together, it may also cause a loud screeching noise – definitely not a good way to make a good impression!

If you can’t find a quiet location, make sure you mute yourself except when you need to speak. And if you’re in a very noisy place, type a message into the chat to explain that you need to communicate through chat because of background noise.

Tip 6: Make sure your audio is clear

Many modern computers come with built-in microphones, but these have three common problems. One is that they can often be pretty quiet unless you are sitting very close to the microphone. This means there’s a danger that others will struggle to hear you and that you get left out of the conversation as a result.

Another drawback of built-in microphones is that because they are near the keyboard, they can often pick up the noise of you typing. This is incredibly annoying as it can prevent people from hearing you or other people in the meeting.

The other problem with built-in microphones is that they usually only pick up the sound of your voice while you are facing forward. If you turn away to get a document while talking, nobody will be able to hear you.

The best way to have clear audio in an online meeting is to use a headset. Make sure you position the headset’s microphone in front of your mouth (not your nose – or everyone will hear you breathing throughout the meeting). And remember to set the video conferencing tool to take the audio input from this microphone.

Tip 7: Don’t try to multi-task

If you try to multi-task by watching, reading or listening to something else during an online meeting, you won’t be able to follow the meeting. You should either attend properly or not at all. It’s annoying for other people to have to repeat things because you were not paying attention.

If you follow these seven tips, you’ll make a much better impression in online meetings. And if people can see and hear you clearly, they will be more likely to listen to what you’re saying.

If you would like to learn more about?Global Bridge, please contact?[email protected]?or call 03-3518-2620.?