How many Zoom meetings do you have per week?
If your answer is more than 5, it's time to invest in how you and your background show up!
Whether we like to admit it or not, how we appear in our meetings increases or detracts from our perceived professionalism.
Before & After
Here is what my Zoom meetings looked like before and after the three enhancements I implemented:
Before:
After:
The Three Enhancements You Should Implement
- Improve your light
- Improve your camera
- Install a professional virtual background
Now, let's go over these one by one.
Improve Your Light
If your computer doesn't face a window, or you often meet in the evenings, or even when it's dull and dark out, you'll know how unappealing the purely artificial light from the screen looks.
To present a light that looks natural, warm and inviting is surprisingly affordable! After testing a few options, we recommend this ring light. It has customizable light settings and a large stable base, and it's easy to turn and point in the direction you need.
Ring light, $22
Improve Your Camera
If you have a laptop whose built in camera is fuzzy or low quality, upgrading to this affordable webcam will make a huge difference and is another non-negotiable. This affordable and easy-to-use camera simply plugs into your laptop's USB port, clips at the top, and even has a privacy cover, so you can cover it when not using (for privacy).
Webcam with privacy cover, $30
Improve Your Background
The third and final thing to update is optional if you find that the location from which you typically meet is cluttered, disorganized, or if you find that you're often blurring it.
There are tons of options for virtual backgrounds these days.
I'd stay away from the slew of beach, space, and fantastical backgrounds that made the rounds when Zoom was just becoming popular. We don't recommend the silly, funny, or kitschy.
Below is an example of a clean, modern backgrounds that are perfect for professional calls: anything from team meetings, running webinars, taking client calls and more.
How to Change Your Virtual Background
To change your Zoom virtual background:
- Start a new meeting or join an existing one
- Click the arrow next to "Start Video"
- Click the "+" on the top right by the default Virtual Backgrounds to add your own background files.
Once you've added your own preferred backgrounds, they'll be saved to your account for the long-term, so you can toggle between them.