How you look your best - in times of home office and video calls
When we speak to someone personally, we perceive the other person as a whole.
It is completely different with video calls, which are now increasingly taking place in the home office.
This is how your performance works in 4 easy steps:
1. Good sound
Curtains, blankets, and pillows create good room acoustics without an echo. A webcam with an integrated microphone ensures that your voice is transmitted well. As for the background, less is more. Too many pictures, colors, and objects distract your dialog partner.
2. Standing appears dynamic
if you want, you should speak while standing and use light gestures. This way, one conveys more energy and speaks more impulsively. Coaches advise looking directly into the camera. This is how the interlocutor feels most likely to be addressed. If it is difficult for you to look directly into the camera, you could stick a photo of the person you are talking to near the lens. In general, an upright (standing) posture and a look at the camera convey a good presence in online meetings.
3. Set the agenda - Online meetings should be moderated
Announce the process in advance. Meaning that everyone involved knows what it is about, and how long it will take. This way, people will not interrupt you all the time. If a person is involved as a moderator, he/she should always lead back to the core topic and keep all participants "awake" and active.
4. Last but not least - Your appearance
Our visual appearance underlines our competence, and is decisive, whether the other person listens to us properly or not. Too patterned clothing, e.g. checkered, striped or small-scale patterns distract and can also make the image flicker.
Small-scale patterns can cause flickering images
It works best to wear single-colored pieces. Subtle necklines and absolutely clean clothes are a must.
Briefly check the fit of your clothes and hair before the video call.
By the way, the hair should stand out clearly from the clothing.
Dark-haired people should choose light colors, light-haired people best wear dark colors.
This way you are guaranteed to look the best in front of the camera and radiate competence.
In case you feel pale in black, you should choose dark blue or brown, depending on your personal skin undertone.
Choose single-colored pieces that match your skin-tone
It is important to know your best colors to match your personal skin tone and hair color. Do you know which color nuances make your eyes shine perfectly?
Learn everything about skin tone analysis and much more here:
All the best,
Astrid