video calls so I thought I'd share a couple of tips to help you guys do better video calls tip number one so if one person's got their video on everybody on that call should also have their video on it's really rude not to and you just cannot connect with the other people on the call if they can't see your face tip number two use headphones with a microphone this one's not about the tangle but the microphone on these will be much closer to your mouth and your voice than the mic in the computer the mic and the computer also picks up a bit of background noise from maybe the fan in the actual machine spinning or the hard drive so you use the microphone and the people listening will have better audio of you and you've got the headphones in you'll be able to hear them a lot clearer tip number three if you're talking I really recommend looking at the camera this helps you connect better with the audience so try and think where the camera is positioned on your screen or your laptop and talk to it when you're making a point if you've got two monitors have a think which one's got the camera and where are you going to position everyone else's video to make sure you're not looking in this direction and the camera is picking you up in another direction really simple tip look at the camera when you're talking tip number four bit of a technical one and this is to get the lighting right so what I'd recommend is a simple three-point lighting system okay obviously you don't need a professional setup just avoid a really bright background light like a window with the Sun streaming in because that would just silhouette you and people wouldn't be able to see your face the second point is don't sit too close to a light or under a spotlight you see this all the time people might sit directly under a spotlight and it's really unflattering I've got a pretty generous nose the last thing I want to do is be drawing attention to it by spotlighting it number five what's your angle if you take a lot of selfies you'll probably know that looking up is always more flattering and the last thing people want to do is be looking up your nostrils so position the camera and it will be better for you and better for the people viewing it number six so another technical one and this is to check your signal so you can do a little speed test just by googling speed test and see how fast your Internet's running if it's a bit slow then there's a couple of things you can do you can plug in an Ethernet cable you can move to a better area of your home but what I'd really recommend is closing some other windows that might be using the data so if you're streaming something can another window or you're downloading something close those off to the video cool that way you'll have an uninterrupted session number seven a bit of set dressing perfect timing so number seven a bit of set dressing so minimize distractions what's in the background look behind you can you clear the frame a little bit you should also avoid busy places in your home you don't want people walking through making cups of tea number eight look presentable think about what you're wearing but you can totally play to your audience so if you're having a cool with your colleagues then fine wear a funny hat put on a different outfit I've seen some really cool screenshots of teams getting into this and getting into their fancy dress other things to think about what's your posture what's your body language doing stay engaged don't slouch don't cross your arms just be engaged look at your screen and hopefully that will help you make a really good impression on the course number nine be prepared share an agenda in advance even if it's just a couple of bullet points this will help keep everybody on track and won't waste anyone's time and really importantly if you're using a platform that you've never used before sign in a little bit early you might have to agree to some T's and C's or download something and you don't want to be scrabbling about doing that just as the cool is going to start and number ten last but not least please please please ask how people are are you doing people might be working from home might be in self isolation on their own so take a minute to check in with people see how they are make sure there's happy and if there's anything that you can do to help them so there you go ten little tips to help you have better video cause I hope you've enjoyed them and found them useful if you think I've missed anything let me know in the comments and also I think at this time it's really good to have a bit of a laugh so if you've got any funny stories or video calls gone wrong please do let us know I think everyone will enjoy reading them thanks very much [Music]