How To Look Presentable For Virtual Meetings

It's been a long time that we all have been staying at home, chilling and relaxing. These days we all are pretty much comfortable wearing pajamas, a loose t-shirt and we usually have messy hair. But when it all comes to attend a meeting or to sit for an online lecture, or even for a job interview one needs to look presentable because being messy in your loose t-shirt won't give a good impression on the other side of the video conference. So it's very important for one to look a bit presentable.

So here are few tips to look presentable on Virtual Meetings:

Background-

It's very important to have a proper background when you are having a video call. If it's a personal video call then the background is not that important, but if it's a business call then one needs to have a good sitting position or arrange for one at home itself. There is no need to make any major changes in the room but to just move a few things here and there.

For example, if there are family photos, a book rack, or a toy rack and if they are coming in your video call background then that needs to be removed because it causes a distraction for the speaker. If your background has a plain color like white, grey, brown, or beige then it would work the best for you.

If at all you don't have a proper background then there are few applications that have the option of blurring the background image which works best most of the time. Applications like Skype and Microsoft teams have that option to blur the background, here is the link which will help you to have a blurred background for skype and Microsoft team-

Lighting-

People often say that they don't look good on a video call, it happens because the lighting is not appropriate or good enough. If your work desk is near the window, make sure that your back is not facing the window during the video call as it will throw off the lighting, instead sit facing towards the window so in that way the natural light can be an aid for you doing the video call.

If you have a desk lamp or a pendant lamp make sure it is just above or behind your laptop or computer camera, this will give more brightness.

It might happen that white and bright colors will reflect light and can create a confusing visual effect on your laptop or computer screen so wear a dark shade t-shirt or shirt. Here's the video that will guide you on how to throw light on your face during a video call-

Use Earphones/ Headphones-

In this lockdown, every member of the house does their office work sitting at home and if you have kids or pet at home there will be background noise for sure so, to lessen the noise in the background during the video calls use your earphones or headphones so that the participants in the meeting do not get distracted.

An echo ruins a video call, or even lags in connection and the internet can easily create an echo or another sound, but this can be lessened with headphones. Close yourself in a room to avoid the background noise. Headphones help to ease your work as it gives great clarity of speech and less background noise for all the participants in the meeting.

Camera Angle-

A good camera angle is one of the important parameters for a video call. A bad angle is very unflattering and it also causes a lot of distractions for all other participants on the video call. This can also lead to a bad impression of yours to the speakers.

Ideally, your camera should only cover your face and upper body, one needs to keep his eyes align to the camera level and needs to make sure he is looking into the camera.

Having eye contact on the camera is very important as it leaves the impression that you are looking and paying attention to the speaker. People often make mistakes and tend to position themselves above the camera or very close to the camera this makes your face and body look big. Sometimes we go too low and lean back and this looks bad. So, having a proper camera angle is important.

Minimal make-up-

Minimalist makeup means using only a few products on your skin that enhances your features. There is no need for a heavy foundation or concealer. One can follow a daily skin routine or else before a meeting just applies a good moisturizer this will reduce the chances of having a skin problem and this even balances your skin complexion. Apply mascara so that your eyes appear to be brighter on the camera. Here is the YouTube video which will guide you on how to apply minimal makeup-

Avoid using a smartphone-

While having a video call avoid using smartphones, it's very easy to use applications through your phone but it's not a good idea. Instead use a laptop or your desktop computer to make a call which is very good as it's very easy for one to make notes and this also helps to have a stable image, which is not possible if you are holding your phone.

So these are few tips which will help you look presentable during any business call because it matters a lot and as they say-

"You never get a second chance to make a first impression."