The Do’s and Don’ts of Video Interviews and Meetings
Video meetings and video interviews are here to stay, so take time out to refresh yourself on the basics of the Do’s and Don’ts for video meetings to ensure you elevate your presence.
Remember you are not in the same room – seems obvious enough, but too many people are not aware of how they frame themselves in the small screen.
Think about proximity. Don’t sit too close or too far away. Aim to have your entire head and shoulders in the frame. Look at yourself in the small box – are you framed well?
Be aware of lighting, if there is too much light behind you, your face will be dark. Think about how to ensure you are presented with an appropriate level of light to your face.
Be aware of your background – nobody wants to see the cluttered room behind you, so use an appropriate backdrop screen, think about any distracting elements in your background.
Present with strong personal image – it needs to be said, brush your hair, put on a collared shirt/blouse and throw the Kathmandu fleece you’ve worn all week into the wash! Even if it is an internal meeting, get up, dress up and show up.
Focus on the camera. Don’t look at yourself (resist the urge to speak to yourself) and please do not look at the brady bunch boxes of your colleagues on screen. It is challenging and it is more tiring, but if you focus on the black dot of your camera, especially when you are speaking it will elevate your presence and your impact.
Be present. Don’t check other screens or multitask with other work while you are in the meeting.
Social queues are more challenging to read when in a video interview, so be mindful of how long you are speaking for and use the technology to ‘wave’ or put your hand up to speak rather than interrupting. On this last point, remember that if someone is sharing their screen they will not be able to see the ‘wave’ or chat box, so ask up front when setting the meeting agenda about when and how to deal with questions.
Use the chat box – it will show you are fully present and elevates your presence.
Think about your voice and your volume. Be articulate. Maintain an appropriate volume. What microphone are you using? Is it too close to your mouth, does it make you breathy and too loud? Take time to set yourself up correctly to ensure you are not too loud and not mumbled. If you are presenting, think about your content delivery - don’t run out of breath.
Work from home distractions – kids, pets, the parcel delivery person/courier – we are all experiencing similar issues, so:
Mute your microphone when you are not speaking to remove background noise, but please remember you must unmute when you are ready to speak, do not risk the chorus of others saying “You’re on mute!”
Be prepared – get the kids settled/supervised/favourite video or game set up, feed the pets or put them outside and put a note on the front door for the courier driver.
Be human – if something happens, and it will, just deal with it, with as minimum fuss as possible. But remember to turn your camera off and mute yourself while you attend to any emergencies.
Do not walk around during a meeting with your camera on – you will make everyone seasick!
Remember you might be at home but you are actually at work.