3 Tips to Improve Your Video Conferences

By Thomas Hart on April 12, 2020

Since pretty much every university in America has moved to online learning with Zoom being the primary means of communication, I thought it would be helpful to give a few tips to up your Zoom game. These tips will work for any kind of video call, not just Zoom classes. We all have to be serious about this since this is how classes work now, and these tips will make you look and sound better on your Zoom calls, as well helping those with shoddier connections.

Tip one: plug it in. To all most of us, WiFi is a convenience that is nearly unparalleled, but if you don’t know how it works, you might be surprised to learn there are other ways to connect to the internet. WiFi is a wireless internet connection, and if you use your critical thinking skills, you’ll realize by reading that that there are wired connection options. Enter ethernet, an internet connection option that works by connecting a special cable into your router. Wired internet connections are the way to go if you need to communicate through video calls because they are less prone to interruptions when compared to WiFi, since the signal runs through an insulated wire rather than just the air. Ethernet cables are cheap and easy to find at major stores, from BestBuy to Target, and when you get it make sure you pick up an adapter so you can plug it into your laptop or phone, since most devices don’t have an ethernet plug.

Plugging these ethernet cables into your router will help you stay connected to the call even through interference. Source: Pexel.com

Tip two: improve lighting. Many of your likely already know the effect that good lighting can have on your visual presentation, but for those who don’t, good lighting can highlight your face and make you easier to see and talk to. It makes your more visually appealing, as most people don’t want to talk to someone engulfed in shadow, and it erases some of the wrinkles on your face. To improve your lighting, you are going to want to place a light source of some kind behind your webcam/camera. For example, I use a desk lamp that I have pointed towards my face, which gives great lighting. Anything could work, your phone flashlight, a lamp, even windows during the daytime, as long as it gives good lighting on your face.

Sitting in a room with a lot of natural lighting is another good way to get good lighting for your visual presentation. Source: Pexel.com

Tip three: speak up. This is especially important if you are going to be talking a lot on the call. You will naturally have an inclination to speak more quietly on a video call than you would in a classroom or even in person. An easy way to fix this is to go into your microphone settings and testing how loud you will need to speak to reach a good level of volume. Placing your microphone closer to your face by using headphones with built in mics can help mitigate this as well. Speaking up in your call makes sure that not only you are heard but you sound confident and your words are clear.

With these tips, you should see a great improvement in all of your video calls, not just your Zoom classes. This will help your important calls go over more smoothly while also making sure you look and sound the best even from a distance.

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