How NOT to Sabotage Yourself on Video Conference Calls
Have you transitioned to the new normal yet? Tough, huh? For those of us working from home, (so prevalent now it even has its own acronym: WFH) adjusting to your home as a once-or-twice-a-week telecommuting haven to an enforced daily workstation comes with a host of challenges. One of them is the constant communication over videoconference. While office conference tables collect dust, Zoom, BlueJeans, Skype and several other online VC platforms are buzzing with activity.
The problem is, very few people seem to know how to present themselves on a webcam in a way that amplifies their message and engages the others watching. If you think that you can be lax about your prep, and the look and sound of the execution, you’re asking for trouble. Don’t lower your standards of professionalism just because it’s virtual. Others will not judge you by the same set of modest expectations.
At Clarity Media Group, we’ve been conducting trainings and webinars over video conference for years, so as a team we’ve seen all the rules broken multiple times. All you have to do is tune into cable news right now to see some dreadful examples of VC communication miscues: people perched in front of bright windows or sitting with their backs up against stark white walls. I’ve seen warmer looking hostage videos. And then there’s the ubiquitous webcam angle I call the “paramedic’s pose,” where the laptop is positioned so low, that presenters look as though they’re hovering over you like an EMT worker trying to revive you while you're lying flat on the ground. Looking up someone’s nostrils isn’t a good look on anyone.
An important distinction often overlooked when comparing actual meetings in a conference room with the virtual variety over the web is the setting. Keep in mind that over video conference you are inviting people into your home, as limited a glimpse as they may have of your surroundings behind you. So before a VC, do what you might do before guests arrive for a dinner party – clean up! The other people on the call are virtually crossing the threshold of your home, so pick up that pile of dirty laundry on the floor, make the bed, fold up and put away the ironing board, etc. Look on the bright side, you only need to tidy the space directly behind you, not the whole house. This week I was on a VC in which one of the participants looked as though she was sitting in bed with her pillows propped up. To make matters worse, it was noon.
It's not just your surroundings that need to be clean and crisp, you need to exude that in your personal grooming as well. VC does not stand for “virtually clothed.” Sweats and pajamas are not a good way to audition for that raise and promotion, and it’s certainly not how you go about impressing and instilling trust in a client. Environmental psychology experts say that if you are underdressed, you are much more likely to underperform. For men, a shower and a shave are highly recommended. An open-neck dress shirt with either a vest or a sweater tends to look professional but casual enough for a home setting. Women should stick to a slightly more relaxed version of the routine they follow when they work from an office, in terms of wardrobe, hair and make-up.
This last tip, I believe, could carry with it lasting benefits. Schedule your video conferences to run 20 minutes maximum. People’s ability to stay focused over VC isn’t the same as it is in person. You would have a better outcome if you planned two, 20-minute sessions (one morning – one afternoon) rather than one 40-minute conference. This will force everyone to be concise (a great consequence) and may even break the scourge of the hour-long meeting rut we’re all dying to bid farewell to. This may be the perfect opportunity to recalibrate everyone’s inner mental clock before we return to the actual conference rooms.
For the foreseeable future, this is the medium we will all need to master if we are to achieve the enduring goals of business communication: being clear, concise, memorable and persuasive.