Your first impression is now digital

Welcome back to my LinkedIn newsletter where I share tips and ideas to help?strengthen remote teams and grow global sales.

How you look and sound on calls and video conferences matters more than ever. During your next call, focus on the person who starts talking or who leads the conversation. What is your first impression of them? Do they instill confidence? Doubt? Trust? Incompetence? How do people think about you?

Like it or not, first impressions are now made virtually. Investing in how you come across during these calls will increase the confidence of your audience as well as yourself. Below are helpful tips for anyone to improve their voice tone, office lighting and sound when when working virtually.

5 ways to sound better on (video) calls

This video above shares ideas to help you sound better and more impactful. Hear great examples of how important tone in when speaking on calls.

LIGHTS

Camera positioning and lights make a big difference. Like most of us, I've been on video calls with hundreds, if not thousands of people since early 2020 and I'd say fewer than 20% of people working from home have made these simple upgrades. This video below includes lighting tips anyone can apply quickly and at a low cost.

SOUND

This video includes helpful tips to reduce background noises including air condition units, fans and children fighting over Pokémon cards in the hallway right next to your office door at the exact time you start a Zoom presentation in front of 50 people for some reason.?

Quote of the month:

“Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until they speak.” –?Steven Wright

Thanks for reading!

For those of you who do not know me, I build sales pipelines and develop?leadership training programs?that help companies increase business across regions and?prepare next-gen leaders?for tomorrow's global threats and opportunities.

I wrote a book about the lessons learned, good, bad and ugly, when expanding into foreign markets called?The Accidental Business Nomad: A Survival Guide for Working Across a Shrinking Planet.??It won an award so now I can put a sticker on the cover.

Be sure to also check out the book's?bonus material?that includes remote team building templates and communication tools.?