Even with social distancing rules relaxing, many of us are still working from home. We may not know how long this might continue, with companies such as Facebook and Twitter announcing 'working from home indefinitely' polices. With the growing trend of meetings taking place over Zoom and Skype here are a few tips from the Swoopymobile team on navigating a work-from-home video conference experience:
- Work From Home wear To avoid any mishaps or embarrassing situations wearing clothes below the waist is essential. You just never know when you might need to stand up or if your camera moves what you might be sharing to the world. Your normal work wear works or a slightly more casual variation of is typically considered professional look.
- Lighting Set up laptop/ phone or tablet up and before the call. You can do a dry run call with a friend or family member. During this call, walk around your chosen space to see which area provides the best lighting and position your work station with the light facing you and slightly angled. Avoid using light as the backdrop as this creates shadow.
- Check the camera angle Once you find the right spot to sit or stand, adjust the shot to capture face, a straight-on with the camera at eye level. Get to know your best angles and re-adjust accordingly. You might needs some books or a stack of magazines to prop up your iPad or laptop. We use smaller heavier items such as a jewellery box to prop up our iPhones for VC calls.
- Backdrop Some people want to dress the backdrop to create or portray an image but this may not be necessary for everyone, however, if you have some personal items you might want to move them from your shot.
- Distractions Switch off any electronic reminders and notifications. If you have kids and family, let them know when you are due to have your meeting as you need some quite space if possible. Keep pets in a different room and remind the family before the call so you don't have people walking in mid-call who are still in their pjs or the sound of your washing. With everyone at home this can be tough so don't be too hard on yourself, you can only do your best.
We hope that our working from home top tips are useful, some companies have now created general guidelines for employees but if you don't have any policies these are the top tips. If you or the company your are working for is looking for laptops, ipads, mobiles at excellent prices, Swoopymobile is the place to go with a 12 month guarantee and 14 days trial. Buy from Swoopymobile to save money and reduce e-waste.
