Introduction
Now that most people have relocated their workspace inside their home, online meetings are an everyday reality. According to Matthew Davies Stockton, your equipment may be responsible for the experience you get in your online meetings. Good and bad gear may also be the difference between good vs bad first impressions or product pitch to a board member or someone in senior management.
The Equipment
- A nice webcam – Good webcam can drastically change your video calls and how people see you on their display. Logitech has a reputation for making excellent, feature-rich, and high-quality electronic accessories. Good webcams allow you to make full HD calls and have autofocus along with the light correction. That means your effort and presenting yourself to your clients or colleagues doesn’t go to waste.
They also have dual mic along with stereo audio for noise reduction and are compatible with most platforms including PC, Mac, Xbox, and more. If you are concerned about privacy and aren’t comfortable with a video camera always pointing at you, you can buy the privacy model that has a lens cover.
- Any universal clip-on LED light – Indoor lighting, especially against white walls is usually never enough for a lens to capture a good image. To fix that, you can buy one of the several mini clip-on LED lights available on Amazon. Just fix it behind your video camera to light up your face.
You can also buy models that allow you to adjust the color temperature. If you want something premium checkout the Beamo mini LED light from JOBY. Apart from blasting you with 1000 lumens, it is also waterproof and can be installed on a tripod.
- Upgrade your microphone – Important online meetings can be crushed with background noise and audio interference. Your laptop’s microphone probably can’t cut down background noise. A decent webcam with its microphones would be an instant upgrade. However, you can take it to the next step with a dedicated microphone. You sound clearer and fuller to your clients and colleagues.
Blue Yeti has been a staple for many YouTubers, streamers, and podcasters for a long time and can help you as well. Don’t be deceived by its ancient looks. The technology inside is modern and reliable to get you through high stakes online meetings without any mishaps.
- Use a tripod and free your laptop – Multitasking on the laptop with Zoom or Hangout calls can be a bit overwhelming. However, it doesn’t have to be like that if you outsource the video calling to your smartphone. This can also come in handy if you are short on cash. Your phone has a better mic and camera than your laptop and mounting it on a tripod allows you to use it as a high functional webcam. Your laptop display now will have all the real estate you need for taking notes, making presentations, doing sheets, and more.
Conclusion
Matthew Davies Stockton believes that you should invest a bit more in your online meeting setup since it is the new normal now. You could also use your smartphone at the time for an instant upgrade if there is insufficient financial room at the moment.
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