8 Tips For Human Video Calls
This is an old article I dug up from a few months ago. At the height of the lockdown, a friend messaged me complaining about video calls, and how it now felt like every aspect of his life wanted a window into his living room?
I’m a freelancer, so video calls are nothing new to me.
Anyway, I’ve been reading a lot of nonsense about how to have professional video calls written by two bit hacks.
A lot of what I’m about to tell you is common sense, but maybe this can help someone or help me get some claps 👏.
So here we go.
1) Keep Video Calls Short and Frequent
Video calls are not like face-to-face communication.
There is no point trying to cover everything in a colossal 1-hour weekly meeting. No one can pay attention for that long, especially if there are time zone differences and your morning is my night, I’ll be a mess.
It’s much better to schedule long calls only when you need them and handle most ongoing communication with 3–5 short meetings.
No small talk. Establish that everyone needs to bring their own list of things they want to talk about and take turns screen sharing.
2) Keep the Discussion Relevant To Everyone
I’ve wasted hours of my life sitting quietly in video calls while people talk about shit that has nothing to do with me. I mean, I get paid for it so that’s nice, but if you’re the payer and not the payee, you’re wasting time and money, my friend.
Don’t burn through the teams, finite mental quota for the day unless you really need to.
What you want to do is spin-off sub-groups, which helps keeps meetings short, frequent and relevant.
3) Don’t Default to Video-Calls
Don’t use video if you can say it better with text.
Text is magic right, you can go back in time and re-read what someone else said until you understand.
You can better structure your thoughts, or access the collective superintelligence, aka Google, to know everything and direct that energy into your reply.
You need a communication stack.
I recommend:
Zoom, Slack and Trello.
or
Jitsi, Telegram and Basecamp.
But it don’t matter right. All I’m saying is that video calls are complimented by text and project management systems.
4) Mute Yourself When You Aren’t Talking
One button is all it takes and no one can hear that fan behind you or your neighbor’s dog.
90% of the human population knows this; to the 10% who don’t, stop polluting the noise space we are sick of passive-aggressively muting you.
Turn off your microphone. It’s easy and you can switch it back on when you need to talk.
Alternatively, you could…
5) Buy a Decent Headset
Your laptop’s mic and speakers aren’t your friends.
In-built laptop microphones are bad at isolating sounds.
They will pick up all the taps when you type and if the volume suddenly changes, the entire video call will erupt into one feedback loop.
With a $20 USB headset, you don’t need to worry about ambient sounds, echoes, or vibrations reaching your desk.
Headphones block out your environment and immerse you in the conversation. If you don’t want to look like a pilot, you can get a table microphone, just make sure you get something good/expensive enough to isolate your voice properly.
6) Upgrade Your Video
Modern laptop cameras are trash. MacBooks from 2020 are limited to 720p resolution camera, and it doesn’t make sense that for less than $50, I can get a 1080p USB camera and drastically upgrade my video.
$50 camera vs $2000 computer.
6) Turn off Notifications
Notifications derail conversations. Turn them off.
7) Keep the Video Call Static
Tell your family ahead of time you have a call, and plug your laptop in ahead of time to avoid the desperate dash to the outlet.
8) Your Background Doesn’t Matter
No seriously, as long as you aren’t outside or in a bar or something, it really doesn’t matter.
If you have a job interview this is different, but I’ve read too many articles saying that what’s behind you is important, baby, I’m looking forward.
Yes if you have an interview or whatever. It’s time to release your inner Tai Lopez and show off your boooks.
Dan Roche, a former VP of marketing has some real advice
“you should avoid a Web-call background that is too personal (dishes, dirty clothes, bedsheets), or too sterile and professional (an empty white wall). A bookcase or lightly adorned shelves work, as do houseplants.”
You want to create an environment that’s somewhere between the white wall and the messy bed in the background.
The same applies to clothes. Don’t go full-suit and don’t show up shirtless or in pyjamas. Be zen. Find the middle path.
Conclusion
Professionalism is in the eye of the beholder. You know what your work’s like. You know if professionalism a big deal there.
If one week into quarantine, pizza strained t-shirts are the new shirts, you have no need for this article. If everyone’s still business as usual, then perfect your lighting and frame your video presence. Don’t worry, this is the flexible work revolution, they’ll be over it soon enough.
