With COVID-19, co-workers are no longer a few feet or aisle apart. Millions of us are miles apart! We’re working from home and, as such, meeting through video conferences. How can we conduct ourselves in a way that allows everyone is to stay focused and attend to the subject at hand?
Below are a few tips:
Lighting Do not sit with a window at our back. If we do, we may appear to others in silhouette. Lights can be above and behind the camera.
Eye Contact This is still critical, but our focal point changes. When we’re speaking, the camera, not the participants, should be in our visual cross hairs. When we look at the camera, others perceive that we are making eye contact with them. Otherwise, we may appear to be looking up, down, away—and, thus, distracted, or, perhaps, nervous.
Background Limit distractions with a simple background. For those who have piles of papers, a stack of books, or sleeping hound to hide, some platforms allow users to insert a picture as a background. Select a simple one.
Attire We may not be in the workplace, but we are still at work. We should think about the way we want to come across, and dress accordingly. Dress in a way that won’t cause other participants to wonder about the importance we place on the meeting – and, thus, on them.
We may be meeting far away from each other, but practices that make it easy to stay focused can go a long way to narrowing that gap.
