How To Appear More Professional On Client Calls (Office Tour and Zoom Tips!)

It has been a hot minute since I've shown you my office setup. Not only am I an entirely different location than the last time I did an office tour, but I've got new tech, new gear, new faves, and new must haves to make working from home on a computer all day, every day way more enjoyable. Plus, I'm sharing all my easy and cheap tips to help you instantly elevate how you show up on Zoom calls so you can look more professional and like you actually have your together, even if you secretly don't. So keep watching. Hey, posse, what's up? It's Alex. Now, something that I get asked about a lot is my office and tech setup. Now, I always think it's kind of funny that people want to hear about this stuff because I'm telling you, I am not an expert. And what I have now looks really different than what I had when I first got started. But it has been a while since I've given you a little home office tour. So here. Here it is. And I apologize in advance for the bad audio. I'm just using my iPhone with this one. Okay, Posse, you asked for it. Here is a tour of my home office, otherwise known as the Zone Dome. Probably my favorite piece of my office. My Posse Fest Live neon sign hanging there reminding me of the greatest live event in the history of all live events. And that is its home until the next time you it gets pulled out for the next Posse Fest Live. Over here I have my desk. Now, you can see here that I have three monitors in action. Big fan of a lot of screens. Usually I use one for writing, one for Zoom calls and anything that I'm sort of actively working on or need as reference. And then one for all of my messaging apps like Slack and WhatsApp so I can communicate with my Mastermind members and my team. I have my Rodecaster Pro 2 mixer here, which honestly is way fancier than anything I ever need, but damn, it looks good. And it plugs into my Shure podcasting mic with a really cool little mic flag on it there that says Copy Posse. This allows for me to get the highest quality audio for all of my training and of course, YouTube videos. Speaking of YouTube videos, I have my Canon EOS R all loaded up with the teleprompter, ready to record episode 278. And then right below that, you have my laptop on a laptop stand. And so this allows my laptop to be at eye level, which is really, really handy for calls if I'm just using the webcam. Or if I'm using my Canon as the webcam. The video, of course, is so close to the webcam on the. On the laptop that it just creates more of that seamless eye level sort of contact with the camera. Now this is something I am super proud of. My desk here has two levels. That was the lower level. Now it is raising up in case I want to stand and work. And something I am very proud of is my cord management situation. That is a lot of cords. And I was able to kind of get them mostly tucked up so when you're standing here, you don't really see them. So pretty excited about that situation. Let me zoom out a little bit here. Now, also, this is something I am very excited about. Also kind of new to my office. You got it. It is a walking pad. Got to get those steps in all day long. I'll be honest, I can't really do any deep creative work on this thing. It's also nearly impossible to train or be on any podcast. But if I'm on a meeting with a team and we're just chatting, I will definitely be on my walking pad. Now let's talk about lighting. You'll notice lighting is definitely something I have a lot of in this section of my office. These two box lights are really great. They create a diffused sort of lighting situation because I'm not facing a window. I just got these on Amazon. They're super cheap. I can look link to them below. Also, a couple additional lights Here we have the Aputure MT Pro and the Aputure MC Pro. This just allows for even lighting on my face while I'm training or creating any sort of content. Again, you guys don't need to worry about this kind of lighting just for zoom calls, but it does create a nice even effect. All right, what else do we got? Over here you have. Oh, my Bose headphones. Obsessed with these. Honestly, it's almost like a weird security blanket. I wear them all the time. Working, sleeping, basically all the time. Some artwork here. I have a beautiful piece of artwork my friend Leanne got me from a trip to Italy. Cover of Entrepreneur magazine. Maybe one day. My brother made it for me. It's a picture of me as a little girl. Some other artwork. Oh, and of course, Big posse Energy candle. Light that bad boy all the time. And then here's a beautiful little picture of my team up there. Shelves are still a little bare because they are new. Figuring out what to put on them. The side's a little bit better. Got some awards and books. My degree you know all that. My chair for when I am standing at my desk, I need to kind of slot that somewhere here. I have just like a ton of storage, which is awesome. These are all custom built filing cabinets. I have a little bit of a printer situation here. I put a lot of swag storage down there. And then of course, all my essentials right here. Now let's talk about my backdrop. So as you can see, the matte black. Honestly, you guys, this was like a solid three to four coats of different types of black paint before I decided on this one. Note to self, glossy eggshell black does not work. It was like a. It was like a. It was like a grungy nightclub vibe in here. But the matte black looks really, really good. And then pro tip, when you do have framed artwork or anything behind you, when you use lights, you have to be really careful about the glare that you see here. So what I actually do is I removed the. The glass from the larger pieces here that really catch the light when I'm recording video content. And instead I just put the posters on some poster board and just got rid of the glass completely. So that kind of allows for, as you can see, if I'm standing right here, a pretty no glare type of situation, which again, took me a while to figure out. Hopefully that saves you some time if you're setting up a backdrop or have framed artwork behind you. And then this is the last thing I gotta show you, my pink couch. Honestly, this thing was custom ordered all the way from Norway and I am just obsessed with it. It's cute, it's very aesthetic. I definitely see myself recording some more content on there for you guys. And of course, my tiger rug, because rar. Right. So there you have it, posse. That is my home office. Apparently I'm a vlogger now. I hope you enjoyed that. You now back to the video. So there you have it, my home office. You have seen what is around me. But you guys keep in mind that I have been working from home for over 14 years. And I also record YouTube videos like this one, which means my tech needs to be way more intense than really anyone who's just looking to look a bit more professional on a zoom call. I've had a lot of time to slowly build up my zone dome, my domination station to what it is today. And it didn't happen overnight. And you certainly don't have to go out and buy all of that fancy stuff in order to have a functional office. Of course, I will still link to everything below, but to be honest, my first home, office and studio, actually my first YouTube video I ever did was at my kitchen table. So if you are just starting out, working from home or you've been working from home for a while, but you really want to stop showing up to zoom calls with like your dirty kitchen countertops or a bed in the background, hey, listen, we have all been there, so absolutely no judgment, but I have got you. Here are four easy and cheap steps that will help you instantly appear way more professional on zoom Zoom calls. Because let's be Honest now, in 2025, Zoom calls are basically a huge part of your personal brand and how you show up online. And if you want to make a great first impression, especially when you're speaking to clients or being interviewed on a podcast or networking with peers or potential refers, you want to get this right. But before we get into it, if you're new to the crew, welcome. What a first great video to land on. You just saw my whole office. Now you're probably wondering, what is this girl all about? Well, here on my channel, you will find hundreds of tutorials on all things modern. Marketing, copywriting, freel, and entrepreneurship. So if that sounds good to you, be sure to hit that subscribe button below. And don't forget to ring that bell to be notified when my next video goes live. All right, let's talk about it. Tip number one. You knew I was going to say this. Lighting. I truly believe that having great lighting is almost all you need to look instantly more professional on your zoom calls. Because let's be honest, ugly yellow overhead lighting that, you know, cast shadows on your face and a ceiling fan running in the background is just not the vibe. Natural lighting is always, always, always going to be better than artificial lighting. And it is 100% free. So if you can take your zoom calls in front of a window, I 100% recommend you do that. Now, while natural lighting is really great, especially if you live in the Pacific Northwest like me, where it's almost always cloudy and the light is just like always naturally evenly diffused because it's just cloudy all the time, if you live in a sunny place, it can be a little bit intense if, like, the sun is beaming through and it can cause harsh shadows and like, squintiness and nobody like. So the easiest hack is to hang a white sheet over the window, like a curtain, something thin that will diffuse the light and help you avoid that overexposure without completely blocking out the light altogether. And to be honest, this was my very first lighting setup for like the first few months of my YouTube channel. And trust me, it really works if all you have is just a window and a sheet. Now, if you don't have access to natural light where you work or your desk doesn't face a window, then I highly recommend getting really great lighting. Something like a ring light like this that attaches just straight to your laptop, is super light and portable, and it can honestly, like, move with you anywhere. This is a great option. There are so many affordable options out there that can make a really big difference. So no matter what, do not skip this step. Just make sure, and this is really important, you guys, that if you are wearing glasses, be careful about the crazy reflection that you get in your glasses. And, you know, for that, you might not want to have a zoom light that's, like, directly in front of you. But go with more of the option that I have with lights flanking you on either side, because even though I still get reflections, it's not as bad. Bad. And holy crap, my glasses are dirty. All right, so the next tip number two is a clean background. Don't do as I do. This is way too extra than most of you need. But I'm just gonna say it. I hate virtual backgrounds. Yeah, I mean, I totally understand why people use them because they don't want people to see, like, their dirty dishes on the counter behind them or like, their kids, you know, running around in the background. And listen, I totally get it. I absolutely, totally get it. And yes, I agree that a virtual backgr background is better than that. If you're meeting with potential clients, you know, you don't want to have your dirty laundry, like, waving behind you. Right. And I've seen some virtual backgrounds that are okay, but most are kind of glitchy and, I don't know, like, super cheesy. To me, they just scream unprofessional like, oh, you don't have a workspace to work from. Like, everyone knows your living room doesn't look like this and that you're not dialing in from the middle of a mountain lake or in a spaceship or floating above the Golden Gate Bridge. That one's so weird. And listen, I know they can be really fun, and they're totally fine for, like, internal calls with your team or clients you've been working with for a while. But in my opinion, if you want to seem professional on client calls or sales calls, from the get go, you want to be sitting in front of a clean and professional background. Now, I am not saying you need to invest hundreds of dollars to create some, like, epic wall behind you. It, like, really doesn't take much. And remember this behind me, that's a YouTube studio. So it's way, way more than you need to just have a professional Zoom call. So at the very least, just simply tidy up the room behind you, remove stuff off the counters, keep it clean, and if you absolutely have to blur your background a bit, which is just a setting in Zoom, or better yet, sit in front of a plain wall with maybe like a plant or no plant, whatever, just a plain wall, that is so much better than a bed behind you. And honestly, the only time it's okay to have a bed behind you on a call is if you're in a hotel room. In fact, according to researchers at Durham University in the uk, zoom backgrounds highly, highly impact other people's perception of you. Crazy, right? The researchers asked 167 different participants to rate the trustworthiness of 72 different images of people with various zoom backgrounds behind them. Home, blurred home, a bookcase, plants, blank, like a blank wall. And novelty, which would be like one of those cheesy, you know, zoom backgrounds. And here are the key findings. The researchers found backgrounds with books or plants scored the highest for trustworthiness, followed by a blurred background and a blank wall. Okay, great. Basically what I just said right now, here's what's interesting. The regular living room and the novelty background did the worst. Like, the worst people were like, I do not trust these people. Now, if a clean background behind you isn't an option, even if it is slightly blurred, then going with a virtual background is totally fine. Like, if you have to, you have to, right? But I would recommend investing in something like this. It is a portable green screen that attaches right to the back of your chair. And it's really awesome because with this, you're kind of creating your own little zone dome and you're solving that glitchy issue where the background is like moving as things in the background shift. And so you have this green screen that you can then upload your virtual background to, and it'll just stay really nice and static. And when you're not on calls, you can just like fold up the green screen and put it away and then you are done with it. Good. Use it next time. And did you know that you can upload your own image for the virtual background? You do not have to use the terrible ones that Zoom provides. You can just Google virtual zoom background images for free and a whole bunch of options will pop up. So just pick something simple, not Distracting. Like a professional bookshelf. Or maybe a cozy library. Or better yet, a clean wall with a plant. If you really want to get crazy, so many options you can choose from will look way better than the Golden Gate Bridge. Do not do the Golden Gate brid. I repeat, do not do the Golden Gate Bridge. All right, so my next tip, and this one's kind of obvious, is audio. I cannot tell you how many times I've been on calls where a person's audio is just so bad or there's extremely loud background noises and it completely ruins the call. Look, I get that working from a busy cafe as a freelancer is a total vibe, and I love it. But if you're going to be on a call with a client or a potential client, you got to put your best foot forward and appear professional. Please, no loud cafe noises or a barista like foaming milk in the background, please. You should be in a quiet spot that has little to no interruptions. Your mic should be muted when you're not speaking. And honestly, those tips alone make a world of difference. But if you really want to, like, level up your zoom call game, you could get yourself a wired microphone. Or if you don't want to deal with all the wires, you can just use a simple Bluetooth mic. Really, any mic that just plugs into your laptop will do. Again, this doesn't have to be expensive or fancy stuff in order to work. Amazon has a ton of different options for, like, under $50. All right, the last tip is number four, camera angle. You guys, it is not flattering to have a camera angled up at your double chin. I mean, nobody wants to see up there, right? And no one wants to see this top down weird camera angle either. It just makes you look like some weird adult baby. And no one really cares about looking at the top of your head. Or the worst. The worst is when you use multiple monitors and your camera is connected to a monitor over here, but you are looking at zoom screen on the, you know, monitor here. And then you get this kind of like, side angle and you're just looking at someone's side of their face for the whole time. No, you want your camera to be at eye level, directly in front of you, just like this. This tip is so simple, and not only does it make you look instantly more professional, but it allows you to better connect with whomever you're speaking to because you are looking at them. Also, I cannot, with these zoom features. Fireworks. Oh, my gosh. Now, to accomplish this without buying a separate camera, you could Simply buy a laptop stand like you saw in my tour, to elevate your laptop to eye level. They're honestly super inexpensive. And this is also a back saver because when you've been working on a laptop for like two decades like me, your back really takes a toll. And if you don't want a laptop stand, do it the old fashioned way and stack up a bunch of books under your laptop until your camera is at eye level. You don't necessarily have to work like that, but it is really handy for calls and that's all you really need to show up. Super professional, you guys. Seriously. Good lighting, a clean background, great audio, and a decent camera at eye level. Your webcam will do. And all of these things are totally free if you get creative. In fact, shout out to this mom who figured it out for a CNN interview. She's got the window in front of her. She's got somewhat of a clean background, although I would remove that blanket off the futon. She's got her laptop at eye level on a chair on the coffee table. She nailed it. And even if you did want to purchase a few things to really help elevate your Zoom game, you could honestly do it all for under $100. And in my opinion, if you make money through zoom, like talking to clients, then it is well worth it. Especially when you're taking calls with those clients or potential customers where you really want to put your best foot forward. Because I'm telling you guys, how you show up on Zoom really impacts your credibility, whether you know it or not. Even subconsciously, a client might choose to go with somebody else who is showing up a little bit more professionally than if you're not following these tips. So if you are interested in checking out any of the items that I talked about in this video, I will link to everything in the description box below. I hope you found this helpful. Let me know if you want to see more content like this. More behind the scenes. You know I got you. I will see you next week with a brand new video. Until then, I'm Alex. Thanks. Ciao for now. All right guys, if you enjoyed that video, make sure to check out the next one from me right here. And you can click right here to get a free gift. Want to see behind the scenes of exactly how I film my YouTube videos? I'm going to take you on a tour of my office, AKA my recording studio. We're going to talk about all my favorite equipment. I'll give you my best tips to help you create your own videos at home. And I even put together a free equipment guide for those of you who stay till the end. So keep watching.