The coronavirus pandemic has made video conferencing essential. If you’re not careful, though, your colleagues and clients will focus more on how you look than what you say.
We’ve got 8 tips from Ken Barber, a former cameraman with ABC affiliates who has been part of Mower’s media training team for almost 30 years. He’s worked with clients ranging from Fortune 500 CEOs and professional athletes to startup companies and private citizens. He knows where to sit, what to wear, how to light the room and how to avoid the dreaded “nostril shot.”
Ken’s biggest suggestion: practice before web meetings. Whether you’re granting reporters an interview, pitching clients or talking internally, you should first put your phone on selfie mode and place it next to your computer. If you don’t sound and look as good as you could, here’s what Ken recommends:
1. Check your sound
Wear a headset or sit close to the mic. Headsets minimize background noise, such as barking dogs and noisy kids.
2. Choose the best lighting
Use a small table lamp with a shade and either an old-school incandescent bulb or an LED light with a lower color temperature (look for bulbs 3000k or lower). You can slide it as close or as far as you need, but this will cast a warmer, soft light that overpowers the light from the computer screen. Make it look like there’s natural light, as if you’re outside and the sun is shining at a 45-degree angle.
Things to avoid: bright windows behind you that show only a silhouette, overhead lights that give you shadows under your eyes, and CFL (compact fluorescent lamp) bulbs that cast you in a shade of blue. If necessary, dim the overhead lights or unscrew some bulbs.
Also, keep your laptop at eye level. If there’s any light shining upward, it’ll look like you’re telling ghost stories around a campfire with a flashlight pointing up at your chin.
3. Frame yourself properly
Sit at a distance from the screen where people see your head, shoulders and to the midpoint of your chest.
4. Pick the right background
Sit in front of a monotonous, one-color wall—preferably beige—and nothing too busy that could be distracting.
If you have to sit in front of something, be far enough away from a bookcase, diploma or picture over your shoulders so people don’t squint their eyes, trying to see what type of books you read, where you went to college or the artwork you find exquisite.
If you really feel brave, position yourself in front of an end table with a vase and a lamp. It’s risky, but it’s the kind of ambiance the crews at 60 Minutes often create.
5. Sit the right way
Sit on either a stationary stool that forces you to focus on posture or a sturdy chair with four legs. Keep both feet firmly on the floor, because crossing your legs will make you shuffle.
If you’re sitting on a couch, you’ll likely slump, and if you’re in an office chair, you’ll likely recline or swivel.
6. Wear the right clothes
Of course you’ll want to discard the sweatpants or pajamas that many people wear these days, but don’t make it a fashion show. Leave the shiny, bright colors and the houndstooth coat in your closet. Too distracting and too detailed. Same thing with the stark white shirt that blends with the light from your computer. Wear business casual clothes with pastel-colored shirts.
7. Keep your eyes on the camera
It may be tempting to glance to the side and see how you look. Don’t. That’s distracting. If it helps, put a bobblehead doll behind the camera or maybe a picture of someone. Stare at the background objects and, in turn, your audience.
This works even if people see a screen that shows both your face and your presentation. Look at the camera when speaking and, when necessary, quickly move your mouse or hit the keypad to advance the PowerPoint.
8. Avoid the nostril shot
Place your laptop or monitor on books or a table so the camera is level with your face. If your laptop is too low, you’ll have to look down at the camera, and folks in the meeting don’t want awkward views of your nostrils.
You can practice with colleagues before the meeting starts or, if you really want candid feedback, ask your teenagers who are also staying home.