We remain committed to staying highly connected to our customers and to one another.
Here are some tips and tricks that we’re finding work for us...
"I can smash out heaps of emails while on a call" - don't do it! While it is super tempting, even if it is a webinar-type of video call where you just need to listen. No one wants to hear “sorry can you repeat that?”. Stay as focused as you would in any face-to-face meeting. Let people know if you’re taking notes so if you’re looking away from the screen they know you’re still tuned in.
"I don't want to show people my messy study" - then don't. You can keep it neat or use the blur feature in Teams to keep the background private. Try to leave your video on as much as you can when you are talking or answering questions to keep it personal. If network quality drops, or you need to step away, then turn your cam and mic off.
"Why is the main presenter's sound choppy?” - The most common issue is when non-presenters haven’t muted their audio. Some devices aren’t great at reducing feedback, or audio can loop with a standard laptop mic. If you’re using Teams then you’ll see a blue halo around those who are active speakers. Remember to mute yourself when you’re not speaking. You can also mute other attendees remotely through Teams. (Let the presenter keep talking and you can mute others on the quiet!)
"You look like you are in a dark basement. Don't you have lights?" - Make sure your room is well lit or you can control shading. With some webcams, you can configure auto brightness or adjust white balance to enhance your colleague’s and customer’s experience.
"Why aren’t you looking at me?" - aim to centralise your meeting screen close to the camera so you look down the barrel of the camera and maintain eye contact. You may want to move any apps or windows you need to reference close by, so your meeting feels similar to a face-to-face conversation.
"I'm over here!" - you may want to set up an external webcam and sit it on top of your monitor, preferably HD 720p in quality or even better 1080p, 4k if you want the best. Often the integrated mics on current webcams are better than those built into your laptop. Remember to update the settings in Teams to use this webcam for video and audio.
"What’s that morse code noise?" - if you use a mic on your laptop and type notes, your heavy fingers can be annoying for others on the call. Use the tips above - external webcam with microphone.
- Thank you David Minnelli for your brilliant words of wisdom!
