Look Prime Time Ready for Your Video Calls

These days a phone isn’t just a phone.

It’s a modern mini TV studio which means you can make phone calls using video.

There is face time video.

There’s Skype there’s all sorts of different applications.

I’m not here to try to promote any one brand but I what I do want you to do is to think about how you can come across your most effective way possible when you are speaking to someone over the phone and you’re using video.

There’s so much more information conveyed when there is video people can see your face they can see whether you have bags under your eyes and look like you haven’t slept.

They can detect more about your emotional state.

So it is much more powerful.

I certainly prefer to speak to people through a life Skype video or a WebEx so I can connect with them where I can see them they can see me.

You might not prefer that it might not be used that often in your corporate culture or your organization your clients might not like it but if you do have the opportunity it’s a very powerful tool.

I mentioned in the very first video of this whole course a couple of tips about the angle.

Again what makes so many people look bad and the reason they don’t like video is they are afraid they’re going to look awful stupid bad.

And if you hold your cell phone down here and shooting up your nose.

Horrible lighting.

It is going to look bad.

So I want to give you some techniques if you’re going to use a cell phone or any mobile device for a video phone.

Ways of Looking a lot better for starters have the phone a couple of inches above your eyes.

Now you can even put this on a bookshelf and you’re standing and use walk a few feet away or if you’re sitting down.

Put it on a stack of books on your desk and aim it that way.

If all else fails just hold it like this.

Yeah your aunt might get tired but if it’s only three minutes big deal not suggesting you hold it like this for two hours.

You want to have more light in front of you than behind you.

I’m not suggesting you take all day long and come up with some elaborate lighting grid what I am suggesting is just look around your room if you’re at your desk and there’s a window behind you and it’s a sunny day and you’re holding the camera in front of you and the windows behind you it’s going to look awful because the light is so bright coming from outdoors and your face is going to get all dark and that what I’d recommend.

Just turn around have the light from the window hitting your face and you’re you’re recording from the opposite direction in general as long as you have more light on your face more light going this way instead of coming from behind you.

You’ll look fine for any kind of telephone calls Skype conference video conference with people.

Now we’re back to the whole issue of audio because if you’re holding your phone like this you’re further away in most cases using earbuds.

The the microphone and headset that comes with a lot of phones you know older iPhones they make is pretty good on that.

So you can just use that if you’re going to be doing a lot of phone conferencing through video.

I would recommend you do what I do.

Again I’m not selling any brand today but I just use a simple love Mike I can plug it onto my shirt jacket tie is cost about 20 bucks from Amazon or any other electronic store.

So you plug it in it’s much more of a professional looking my professional sounding Mike.

It will plug into a phone or whatever device you’re using.

You really want to take it up a notch.

Now I do this more with my computer and I pad if I’m doing Skype but I actually use an earpiece that way I don’t have to use the earbuds.

I’m using an iPhone.

This is just like what a professional broadcaster uses this clicks onto the back and then goes round into my ear and you don’t see it.

So it looks very professional again.

This cost like 20 bucks on amazon and simple earpiece and it’s very effective.

You can do it for phones you can use it for iPads any other computer.

So these are some of the basics you need to think about when it comes to using video phone calls.

The other big problem for most people is because they’re self-conscious because they’re nervous about oh how am I going to look.

People freeze.

So if you have the best message Well thank you sir.

We would love to do business with you.

We can do wonders for the marketing of Company X Y Z.

The message might be fine.

But would you want to do business with that person.

I don’t think so because I looked scared stiff bored and boring so the biggest thing to remember when you’re doing any kind of video telephone conference is you have to move you have to move your face.

You have to move your head.

You need to move your body and yes you even need to move your hands.

Now your hands don’t have to be visible to the person seeing you it may be much tighter shot than how you’re seeing me now but the sheer fact that you’re moving your hands means you’re much more likely to be moving your body your head your face your eyebrows and you’ll look like a real human being.

That’s the key.

It’s not about being beautiful or perfect or glamorous.

It’s just about not looking like a scared stiff frozen robot.

That’s what makes people scared afraid to do video.

Also really keep in mind the professionalism of what’s behind you.

I have here’s what I do when I’m doing a Skype video conference.

This is just a white PowerPoint slide on a TV screen.

You don’t have to be that fancy but if you’re on the road if you’re doing a Skype video conference call and you’re at a conference and you’re in a hotel room don’t show an unmade bed behind you it’s just distracting looks unprofessional and sometimes it’s simply a matter of sitting on the bed and you’re now showing the wall behind you.

No one can see the bed.

So really look at it see how other people see you on this video call because if there’s anything distracting.

I’ve seen people doing even videos here on udemy where behind them you see all kinds of liquor bottles and stuff.

They allow under or this person likes to party at all these distractions.

It’s OK to have a professional office you know a lamp photos something like that.

Books are fine if you’re in a library but just give it some thought because human beings are easily distracted by any visual that’s more interesting than looking at the face.

Give it thought and I think what you’ll find is video conference calls can be the most effective form of using the phone of all.

Once you get comfortable with it.