Most business occurs on Google Hangout and Skype. Presently, you can speak to a client or attend an interview for a remote job through a video call. Your physical appearance should be good and know the manners of a video call, in order to make video meetings successful.
Here are four must-do things for successful video meeting from home:
1. Every call should have an agenda
You should ensure you have an agenda for every call. This helps you in planning your ideas, as well as being straight to the point. Assuming you made a call and you have not made an agenda, many pauses will make you sound bad and appear unprepared.
Ensure you are informed regarding your topic of discussion. The best thing is to note down all the things you want to discuss in a book. Evernote is the best app to do so. Further, ensure you have discussed all the points by the time you end the meeting.
2. Internet connection
Slow internet connection is the major issued faced by most people during a video call. Such connectivity makes it difficult for people to hear each other, or end up talking over each other. So, when having a call ensure your internet usage has not exceeded its quota. Also, if you work from a co-working space that has less bandwidth, go to a place where fewer people are using the bandwidth.
Also, ensure the internet connection is not from your side as it annoys all the parties involved. To do so, get a high-speed broadband connection if you are working from home.
3. Etiquettes
Here are some protocols that you should observe when making a video call in skype:
Look at the camera
Since you can see yourself on Skype, most people tend to look if their appearance is good. Try to avoid doing so, and look at the camera as you speak. This way, you will maintain eye contact with the other party. Looking down at the box where you appear as bad as you will never have eye contact.
Mute when required
You might get some disturbance such as a call while Skyping. In such cases, ensure you ask the person you are talking with to excuse you for a minute. Mute the video and speak to the person causing a disturbance.
Sharing your screen
In some situations, you will be required to share your screen to discuss your points in details. Therefore, ensure your desktop is clean, not cluttered, and have a good background. Too, you can open vital links in your browser to save time.
4. Appearance and settings
Working from home comes with a lot of freedom. But, it is good to be professional. Here are some tips to observe before making a call:
Dress professionally
Irrespective of your location or place of work, people will always judge your appearance. Thus, always dress the way you would when going to an outside place of work. People will not take you seriously when they see you not dressed professionally. For you to be seen as an authority, make sure you dress like an authority.
Ensure you are sitting on a table
Most people will sit anywhere when working from home. Although this might be comfortable, sitting on a table makes a huge difference when you are video calling. Also, this makes you look professional as your face gets captured well.
Your room must be well lit
Although you need to check on the lighting, most laptop cameras are of high quality. However, the camera of your laptop or desktop is small and might not absorb all the light. Different light displays in different tones. So, ensure the area is well lit, especially around you, and there is no direct light on your camera as it can blur your image. If you are still facing problems with quality of video calls, you can try enhanced Video API for having high-quality video calls.
Stay in a quiet room, away from noises and family distractions
This is among the main ways of looking professional. You will appear unprofessional if you have kids playing or crying on the background. To avoid such, go to a separate and quiet room. In case your house is near traffic sounds, consider making the call from a coffee shop.
Final Thoughts
If your place of receiving the call is noisy, consider using headphones that has a microphone. In fact, this is an essential gear if you are working from home. Before making a video call, ensure you have tested everything. Apart from appearances, be prepared in all other aspects.
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