Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic at the latest, video conferences have become the order of the day in many companies. During lockdown phases, most employees are in the home office. They do their job from home as far as possible. To keep everyone up to date, there are regular video calls. These take place either face-to-face with individuals or in teams. Digital meetings are not always crowned with success. Here and there, the connection drops. A crying toddler runs through the picture or the person you are talking to is fascinated by your nostrils. To ensure that such little mishaps do not happen, we give you a few small tips to make the digital meeting more effective.
1. Familiarize yourself with the technology.
If you haven't done it yet, do it now with a dear colleague, friends, or family. In order not to look stupid in the meeting, try out all the functions of the video system used once. In the best case, use the opportunity for a little small talk or to get up to date.
2. Set the scene
There is no one who looks like a top model in the glare of the webcam. Nevertheless, there are possibilities for optimization. Make sure that there is no window or a lamp shining in the background. The same applies to dim lighting. Both variants lead to the fact that the person you are talking to recognizes you poorly. Indirect light through a window or a desk lamp is optimal. In addition, there are various options in the settings of your webcam to adjust the exposure.
3. Check the contents of your shelves
In January 2021, a BBC interview became a Twitter hit that millions of users were amused by. The reason? A chic “toy” on the shelf of a female talk guest. What do we learn from the video? Take an embarrassingly precise look at the background of the video section. This applies not only to shelves. Are piles of laundry stacking up in the background? Does the extra-large wine rack take up half the kitchen or do the football fan posters overlap the living room? Depending on who you are having the video call with, this is not always the appropriate setting. With Google Meet, there is the possibility to blur the background. Alternatively, look for a place with a neutral background.
4. Take a fixed place for the video call
Laptops tempt you to carry them around. A mistake! Quickly, colleagues get glimpses of you that you are not used to. In the top ten of the most popular home office fails on YouTube: a trip to the toilet. It is better to find a good place before the video call and align the camera. Small tip: Put your smartphone away. The person you are talking to sees when you are checking the WhatsApp status of your friends during the conversation.
5. Fade out background noise
It is a good idea to withdraw to a separate room for the conference. Set up your Home office according to your ideas. In the best case, lock the door or let people know that you are in a meeting so that no one bothers you. Pets also cause noises that disturb the transmission. This worsens the acoustics. If you are currently looking after your child, address this directly so that there are no surprises.
6. Keep your composure
Even if the home office tempts you to dress sloppily: For the meeting, it means dressing chic and styling your hair neatly. Look into the camera and keep yourself straight, just as if you were in your normal office. This shows the person you are talking to that you convince with competence despite the lockdown.
7. Choose a strong internet connection
With 16 Mbit/s, users don't get far these days. Especially not in times of home office and video conferences. The same applies if you play games or stream movies after work. The test winner LIWEST offers high-performance broadband internet with 100 Mbit/s and more in Upper Austria. This keeps the connection stable during the next video call and outages are a thing of the past.
8. Use Wi-Fi in all corners
You already have the best internet and yet you don't get reception effortlessly in every corner? Wi-Fi repeaters offer the possibility to amplify the router's signal. This way, the wireless network reaches all rooms or the garden, which is especially desirable in summer.
9. Stick to the rules
For video calls, the rule of thumb applies: let people finish speaking! Otherwise, a mess will arise. To ensure that everyone understands you well, speak clearly without shouting. Listen to others, turn off the microphone. This prevents the colleagues from smiling when Junior tells his anecdotes.
10. Switch off camera and microphone after the meeting
When you say goodbye to the video call, make sure that you really switch off the webcam and the microphone, otherwise your colleagues might get more insights than you would like.
