Susan Finch has worked from home for 18 years. She has also been involved in video conferencing for nearly that long including running Zoom meetings, YouTube live events from a conference room floor, the forest, a lighthouse, a racetrack. She has a few tips to share:
One of the most important things, as we are encountering more people and larger groups for the first time using video conferencing tools, is to protect your family and your privacy. Stop giving away so much personal information such as your children’s faces, the art in your house, the entertainment equipment you have, the type of alarm system. You’d be shocked at what people can find out about you when you show up in your every day home office environment.
Lighting – make it easy to see you. One of the easiest ways is to set your monitor background color to white to brighten your face. You may get glare on your glasses, but it will be easier to see you.
Tidy up that desktop – your monitor. If you are prone to screensharing, clean your digital office. Tuck it all into a folder or onto a different monitor.
Browser windows – don’t have 50 tabs open. We all know you are oh so busy, but thin it out and don’t look so chaotic. Tuck away the busy window if you cannot close it, or start a fresh window with just the tabs you’ll need. You will increase your bandwidth if you CLOSE all the extra stuff – programs, windows, notifications. Stay focused on the topic of the meeting.
What is your favorite tip?
