Tips To Make Quality Video Calls | Nataliey Bitature

Hi. So today I wanted to talk to you about video calling tips. We're now living in a digital world and more and more people are connecting and having meetings, discussions online. So it doesn't matter what platform you're using, whether it's Zoom or Skype or Microsoft Teams or. There's so many these days. But I think it's important that we just know the basic etiquette for video calls. I've been doing video calls for a few years now because of having to do work internationally. It's very, very helpful. And now that it's become the norm, I feel like everyone should have good video call like etiquette. So I feel like you need to understand a video call is a replacement for a meeting. So you have to think about it like it's a real life meeting. So you want to be on time, of course, you want to be visible and you want to behave in a way that you would in the meeting. So from the technical side, I think the most important thing is to understand the mute. So when it's not your turn to speak, you should have your settings on mute as the default because there's always background noise. So many people are working from home now, so there's kids, there's always other things happening. So unless it's your turn to speak, keep the mute on. That way you're not interrupting others, the background noise with you is not interrupting, and everyone can focus on who is speaking. Then you want to make sure that you're visible. So a lot of people don't realize this. And when it's time for the call, they just switch on their computer or their phone or whatever they're doing and just start to talk. But light is important. If people can't see you, it's harder for them to connect. And then you might as well have been having a phone call. And a video call is supposed to represent a meeting. So it's important that people can see you and they can see your face. It's clear, it's in frame. You don't want to put it too far behind and it's like you're far away also, not like too close. Sometimes people put it like at an angle, you know, and it's not, it's not flattering, ladies. So you'd want to put it and like practice it. The good thing is usually when you open the platform, it shows you what it sees. So you have like a few minutes to adjust. Try and get on the call five minutes before so you can adjust. Most of the time you See, you know where the light is coming from. You want the light to be in front of you, not behind you, because then it will make everything dark. So it's useful to switch on and see your video call and then just turn and see which angle is the best. So for me, if I was doing a video call from here, I would face this way. So the light is coming at me, so I am seeing and the camera is here, so it's showing me. So make sure people can see you. It's important. And check your data before you get on the call, because if your data runs out while you're on the call, it will just drop and then people will be needing you. It'll take you a moment, moment to reload and come back. So small, like etiquette, things like that. It's important. So think about it like it's a meeting. Don't get distracted because I know it's easy when it's not you talking, they can't even hear you and you start doing other things, but people can see. And I think it's been a lot happening in the media at the moment. You can see so many politicians and business people, they start doing other things and they forget that the camera is on. And it's very embarrassing. So it's important that you remember the camera is on. Take it like a real meeting. Don't be like, oh, I have a video call meeting, so I can be doing other things while it's happening. If your camera is on or your video is, or your audio is on, people will hear and people will see. And the truth is, if you're supposed to be in a meeting, be present in the meeting. So be doing that focused only because people can see when you're on your phone or if you're talking to someone else and it's really rude and disruptive. Take it like a real meeting. Make sure you're prepared for the meeting. It's customary to say hello when you get on the call. Oh, hi, how is everyone? Small, small talk and then at the end, thank you, and you're leaving. The video calls usually have a chat option, which is. It can be disruptive if people are having chats throughout while someone is talking. But it can be useful if someone is talking about something and you like send a link or a phone number or the email address to follow up. So small things like that. The chat is really useful for, I feel like, get familiar with the software that you're used to using. If your company prefers one type or if most of your friends are using one type so that you get comfortable with it and you get to know it, and you can see which features that it has, because all of them offer different things that you can adjust, like the background or what the default options are. Should your video always be on. So there are small things that you can adjust, and some of them have premium you can pay for for different options. Some of them have so many features for free, sometimes it's like a webinar or like a conference where you just have to log on and they can't see you, and you can just hear what's happening. So many companies are adjusting how they're doing things, and it's important that we stay up to date. Because we're now living in a global world doesn't mean we get left behind just because we're in Africa. I hope you find that help.