Zoom Meetings: Tips to Look and Feel Your Most Professional

Sitting in front of a computer and a webcam for hours is very much the “new normal”, and this includes travel consultants – many of whom are meeting with both their clients and travel suppliers via video chat.

Now that Zoom, Skype, Facetime and other services have taken over our daily personal and professional lives as we know it, you may be wondering how to appear your absolute best on video chat. That may mean anything from figuring out how to flatter your face on your client’s laptop screens, to the importance of a tidy office room in the background. We’ve put together this handy guide to Zoom Meetings to help you out!

Adjust Your Room Lighting

Make sure you are presenting in a well-lit room, where the source of light is in front of you. If possible, find a room in your house with as much natural lighting as possible and sit so that you are facing that natural light
If you don’t have much natural light available, we recommend having a stable lamp, situated directly by your face, for nice and even lighting.
Avoid sitting with your back to a window, as the camera will expose for the outside light and make you appear as a silhouette. Instead, flip the camera and face the window, which will give you soft, pleasant, flattering light.
If you have the budget for it, a ring light is a perfect solution for bad lighting. Not only will it produce plenty of light, but it’ll also give your eyes that flattering circle of light reflection to make them pop! Here are some options on Amazon with amazing prices and reviews! Ring Light Laptop Clip On and Ring Light Tripod with Phone Holder

Pay Attention to Your Room Background

During a Zoom meeting, you want people to focus on your face and what you’re saying, not what’s behind you. It is best to keep the background behind you plain and simple, such as simple blank walls, or a wall with nothing but a couple of pieces of art hanging. Even though that might seem boring, that also means it won’t be distracting to your meeting attendees.

Virtual Background

If you want to try a virtual background for your meeting, go into the Zoom app and click your profile in the top right corner, and then click Settings.
On the menu to the left, click Virtual Background.
You’ll see a few default background options provided by Zoom, including an outer space scene or blades of grass. You can choose one of those by clicking on it, and it will automatically change your screen as well.
If you want to upload a photo to use as your background, on the same Virtual Background Page, click the “+” icon next to where it says Choose Virtual Background.
A box will pop up allowing you to upload a photo from your computer. Click on the one you want, and it will appear alongside the other pictures as an option for you to choose from.
Virtual backgrounds look best when you’re standing in front of a blank wall, so the program can cut around your head/body efficiently, so your background appears more natural and less “Photoshopped in”.

Adjust the Camera Angle + Perspective

The cameras on smartphones and webcams are usually wide-angle. If you get too close to the camera, you will likely appear a bit distorted. Make sure you sit a bit back from the camera to make sure you look like your, non-distorted normal self.

Align Your Eye Level

Eye to eye contact provides the best feel of connection, so make sure to look at that camera directly. How to do that when the webcam is physically below your eye? Stack a bunch of books under your laptop until you see the webcam eye to eye. You could even decide to stand during your presentation and set it up so your camera is at eye level, if that’s easier. Doing so helps create a more direct sense of engagement with clients.

Check Your Internet Connection

Use a reliable, high-speed internet connection to ensure a smooth Zoom presentation to prevent laggy audio and video.

Test Your Audio & Video

Test your audio and video before a meeting. Check if your camera and microphone are working properly by joining a Zoom test meeting. You can also test out your equipment from inside the Zoom app by clicking on Settings → Audio or Settings → Video.
Ensure your laptop is plugged in. Imagine if your laptop dies out in the middle of your presentation just because you didn’t plug it in properly! Avoid that happening by making sure it is plugged in ahead of time.
If you will be sharing content during the meeting, make sure you have the files and/or links ready to go before the meeting begins.
Whenever possible, distribute your Zoom meeting link only to the individuals who will be attending your meeting.
For improved audio, using a mic is a great option, as it will make you sound much better. In Zoom, you can go into General Settings and adjust the audio, and pick your accessory mic instead of the default mic from the webcam.
Here is a great option on Amazon for a mic that will just plug into a USB port on your computer: Amazon USB Computer Microphone

Tips for During Your Meeting

Mute

You can mute/unmute individual participants if needed, or all participants at once. This allows you to block unwanted, distracting, or inappropriate noise.
To mute everyone, click Manage Participants and select Mute All.
You can also enable Mute Upon Entry in your settings to keep noise at a minimum during large classes or meetings.

Hold

If you need to, you can put everyone else on hold, and the attendees’ video and audio connections will be disabled momentarily.
Click on someone’s video thumbnail and select Start Attendee On Hold to activate this feature.
Click Take Off Hold in the Participants list when you’re ready to resume the meeting.

Internet Disruptions

Many network providers are seeing massive increases in residential bandwidth use during the day, and many users are being throttled. If participants are experiencing lagging or skipping, suggest that they use their computer to access video, while simultaneously dialing in by phone for the audio.

Shortcuts

Here are a couple of keyboard shortcuts worth learning to save you some time.
I is for invite. Press Alt+I (Windows) or Cmd+I (macOS) to jump to the Invite window, where you can grab the link to the meeting or send invitations to others via email.
M is for mute. Press Alt+M (Windows) or Cmd+Ctrl+M (macOS) when you are the meeting host and want to mute everyone else on the line.
S is for share. Press Alt+Shift+S (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+S (macOS) to share your screen.