Creating A Zoom-Worthy Work Experience

As more businesses move online and work-from-home jobs become more readily available, video conferencing is consistently growing in popularity. If you weren’t a Zoom (or Zoom alternative) user before the pandemic, you most certainly are now.

While meetings have transitioned from the boardroom to the comfort of your desk (whether that be your office desk, living room couch or local coffee shop high-top), it doesn’t mean you should just click the “join meeting” and call it a day. In fact, it’s more important than ever to make sure you’re set up for success. To help you create a zoom-worthy work experience, we’ve put together some of our top video conferencing tips. Check them out below! ⬇️

1. Set the tone.

When preparing for a video conference call, it’s crucial to be mindful of your background. Find a spot with a work appropriate background that’s well-lit, free of noise and not overly busy (if you’re working from home, make sure roaming pets and other household members stay out of camera view). Don’t forget to do a quick clean up of the space and eliminate any unnecessary clutter. Working in public or simply don’t have time to de-clutter the space? Add a virtual background!

2. Quality is key.

Unlike a traditional in-person meeting where you can clearly see and hear the speaker present, video conferencing adds an extra element between you and the other parties. While the majority of video apps have built-in features to help enhance video and picture quality transmitted, these features are limited. Our recommendation? Invest in a high-quality webcam and computer microphone/in-ear microphone (for those on a budget, there’s tons of affordable options that ring in under $100 total). For those of you facing poor lighting situations (like having a window behind your desk set-up), we’d also recommend investing in a ring light—for about $30, you can improve your lighting and face your screen confidently knowing you now look your best on camera. Another quick way to improve video quality? Close out of any applications that are open and not necessary for the meeting.

3. Etiquette essentials.

“Please mute yourself when you’re not speaking.” One of the main phrases you’ve likely become so familiar with that it’s now second nature. Not engrained yet? Go into your audio settings and check “mute microphone when joining a meeting” so you never have to think about it. What’s another etiquette essential? Eye contact. Just like you’d want to make eye contact with your audience in an in-person meeting, it’s important to do the same on video conferencing. Make sure you’re looking into your camera and not at a random place on the screen. *Bonus Tip: If you’re in sales or just generally in a lot of meetings where you don’t know the other party well, there’s a setting to “always display participant’s name on their videos” in your video settings.