The (New) Rules of Engaging Virtual Meetings – Tip #2
Over the past few months, we’ve been relentless in attending “best practice” webinars, researching tips and strategies, exploring virtual platforms, and testing production methods in the pursuit of elevating the virtual meeting and training environment to unprecedented levels.
To pull of an engaging virtual meeting, there are indeed new rules, and in this series of posts, we will share some of our top insights we’ve found to crack the code on designing and running engaging virtual meetings. Today’s primary topic is about learning to stare down the camera.
Tip #2: Look at the camera (not your audience)
This one is a real mind bender: If you are using a typical video conferencing platform, like Zoom or Teams, it can be really tempting—and really natural—to look at your audience. However, unless your camera lens is somehow positioned perfectly, you’re going to look awfully shifty to your virtual attendees. Instead, we want you to stare THROUGH the lens of your webcam or your studio camera.
At our SPACE | 1335 Virtual Training Studio in Tempe, AZ, this is the #1 thing our producer, Sean, will reinforce to our newbie virtual on-camera talent.
Since you may not have the luxury of a broadcast-quality virtual studio on the daily, one of the ways you can ingrain this camera-seeking habit is to practice staring directly at your web cam on low-stakes video conferences; especially when you are speaking. Similarly to Tip #1, compare a few recordings of yourself staring laser beams through your webcam and then staring at your audience and you’ll immediately notice the difference. Believe us, it won’t take long to groove this habit into your brain and start looking like a real pro.