Teleconferencing tips

Working out of my home is nothing new for me, but the last month of social distancing has taken things to a new level. Before we were all advised to self-quarantine I rarely went out if there wasn't some kind of meeting to cover. Now, as more and more public boards are switching to teleconferencing, I don't even have those to get me out of the house.

Whether it's a public meeting, a work related event, or just a social group call, teleconferencing has taken a new prominence in daily life.

One that not everybody is quite ready for.

So, here are a few things to keep in mind as we transition to a world of video meetings.

Dress for success

Video conferencing brings the business of the public to the comfort of your own home, but just because you're in the comfort of your own home doesn't mean you're also not in public.

A family court judge recently sent out an open letter to the lawyers in their district reminding them that court hearings via video conferencing are still court hearings. This reminder happened after a number of incidents where lawyers would "appear" before the court wearing pajamas, if anything at all. Sometimes with bed head. Sometimes still in bed.

As novel as it can be to attend a public meeting from home, make no mistake. You're still at a public meeting. Be mindful of anything you put on camera, be it yourself or your home décor.

There are some out there that recommended dressing in full attire, shoes and all, in order to get into that working mindset. I wouldn't go that far. I'm not even saying that you HAVE to wear pants during a video call, just be aware of the risks involved if you absent-mindedly stand up.

Eyes up here

Every day science fiction gets a little less fiction-y. For decades we've watched everybody from James Bond to Captain Kirk talk directly at a viewing screen as though the person they were telecommuting with were there in the room with them.

That fictional technology has made leaps and bounds over the years, but there are still some minor kinks to work out. Particularly regarding eye contact.

Anybody that's ever played with video calls quickly realizes that you have to choose between looking at the person you're talking to or looking like you're looking at the person you're talking to. We are trained from a young age to look people in the eye when we talk to them, but doing so on a video call is counterintuitive. When you're speaking to somebody, their "eyes" aren't on the screen. Their "eyes" are the camera lens.

Whether you are talking one-on-one or to a group, it's a good idea to fight the instinct to look at whoever you are talking to. Looking at anything but the camera lens makes it appear that you're looking away from them at something else.

Control your audio

There is a reason gamers wear headphones. Whether they are streaming or simply playing online multiplayer, it's important to have a separation between what you hear and what you are putting out for other people to hear.

Your computer's microphone doesn't know the difference between the sounds coming out of your mouth and the sounds coming out of its own speakers. In gaming, this means that everybody you are transmitting to hears everything happening on your screen. In video conferencing, this means everybody you are transmitting to hears everything everybody else already said.

The easiest way around this is to remove unnecessary sound from the equation. You don't need a fancy gaming headset to do this. A regular pair of earbuds will work just fine.

Earbuds will eliminate the largest source of unwanted noise from your video conferencing environment, but it's up to you to manage the rest. The best way to do this is to simply not transmit at all. If you aren't speaking, and don't plan to speak anytime soon, just mute your mic. This saves your fellow video conferencers from hearing you every time you rustle in your seat or clear your throat.

If possible, utilize a "push-to-talk" button to make extra sure you haven't left your mic open when you didn't intend to, or vice versa.

Lighting

Lighting is one of the easiest things to overlook when considering your home setup, but it also makes one of the biggest impacts.

There is a lot that I could write about lighting, but let's just keep it simple with this basic rule: Lights go behind the camera. This is true whether you are filming a movie, taking a photo, or holding a conference call. A lamp in the background of your frame is going to glare like a white dwarf on camera, brightening everything but your face. Unless you're going for a particularly artsy look, avoid pointing your camera even in the general direction of a light source.

This includes reflective surfaces as well. If your light is behind your camera, but your television is behind you, then your light is essentially behind you too. Windows in particular are a real hazard since, depending on the time of day, they can be both a source of light and a reflection.

Depending on your home setup there may not be much you can do about your lighting options, but even sticking a lamp behind your computer screen and throwing a towel over your television can help keep your face lit while reducing distracting glare.

Learn your system

Whether it's Zoom, Facetime, Skype, or any of the multitude of other video services out there, take some time to sit down and play with it. Learn what it can do. Learn what it can't do. Familiarize yourself with its features and functions before you dive in. Not only will this save you from potential embarrassment, it will give you the ability to help out others that may not be so technically inclined.

A lot of people are uncomfortable in front of cameras in any circumstance. Learning the ins-and-outs of video software is a good way to reduce some of that anxiety.

Travis Fischer is a news writer for Mid-America Publishing and is strongly considering investing in new lights and a green screen so he can teleconference from the bridge of an Imperial Star Destroyer