Framing Virtual Meetings

I attended two Zoom presentation rehearsals in the last couple of weeks and want to share some really good tips I learned. The sponsors wanted to make sure everything would go off without a hitch, so the rehearsals.

I am pretty experienced with this stuff and need to commend the coaches. There is always something you can learn. The meetings were on Zoom but this information is equally applicable for other virtual venues. The following are some tips and you can use what you want.

• The camera should be level with your eyes for the best effect. If necessary place a book under your laptop to raise it.
• Position your screen so there is not much room above your head.
• You can also position the screen so that if you stand up and take a couple of steps backward, your face will show.
• Do not have lights or unshaded windows in back of you. Try to position a lamp in front of you behind the camera to best show your face.
• Do not use a virtual background. They look cool but a lot of backgrounds cut off pieces of your head or shoulders. Viewers are now used to people working from their homes and seem to discount or ignore the house type of backgrounds.
• Silence your cell phones and try not to have your desk phones ring in the room you are sitting in.
• Ask people in your house to have their conversations or calls in a far off room and try to have as few background noises as necessary. However, normal distractions are accepted and tend to be ignored if they are of short duration. Note that no matter the time that I am on a virtual meeting on a Tuesday, the lawn people seem to show up at that time. On Thursdays, they come to my neighbors on both sides of my house. C’est la guerre!
• Using earbuds or a headset will shield some background noises. Also, when you work off your computer audio, sometimes there is an echo effect when other people are talking and you are not muted.
• When you are muted and it is your turn to speak, be ready to unmute yourself quickly. Practice this when you sign on.
• Sign on early so you can practice and make sure you are set up properly. Also, this might allow some networking before the meeting starts.
• Have a fall back if you lose your connection. Get the dial-up number to call from your cell phone. These too have become accepted as part of what goes on, but this helps to keep any disconnections limited to a minimum period.
• You can adjust the screen view for the gallery (which is everyone logged on) or to show the speaker. This is based on your preference.
• Try to keep an eye on the chat board in case there is a message or instruction for you.
• Things on virtual meetings happen a little slower, so have some patience, and be ready when it is your turn to speak.
• People are used to seeing speakers looking down at their notes, but it looks awkward when people look up and that occurs when people read off of another monitor that is positioned higher than eye level. I remember Anthony Hopkins saying he practiced looking slightly up when he played Hannibal Lecter.
• If you are attending a program around lunchtime, you can have your lunch then as long as you won’t be speaking. Just be careful not to spill your drink or drip Russian dressing or hot sauce on your keyboard.
• I like having a glass of water handy to sip when I speak rather than a bottle of water. I think the glass looks classier, but this is not a major issue as long as you have something to drink easily available.

I hope you can use some of these tips.

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