Other Key Tips

• Eye contact remains a crucial way to signal to your audience that you see and hear them. It can be tricky with video calls to know where to look. One thing for sure, don’t look at yourself. If you have set up properly, you should be confident enough to close down your self-view (this is an option on Zoom) and free yourself up to connect more directly with your audience. 
• Active listening goes a long way over skype or Zoom. A slight head tilt and occasional head nods will let your audience know you are very much with them and not thousands of miles away. You can also use arched eyebrows to signal silently when someone makes a good point.
• Close down all distractions. I’ll repeat it again: minimize open tabs, close down your email alerts, and put your phone on silent.
• Mute as a habit. Get used to muting when in a gathering so you can cough, clear your throat, and avoid unexpected background noise like a blaring siren. This advice extends to your video as well, if you need to do something, and you are just listening, better to mute the video than to distract the audience. 

Conclusion: Video conferencing is the present and the future. How we perform, how attentive we are to the small details, including our nonverbals matter. What was once envisioned as science fiction is now here on our desks and even our smartphones. Everyone is seemingly doing it—what a great opportunity to get it right. 

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