How to Improve Video Call Quality at Home on a Budget

Chris Schwager 00:00:01

Welcome to the Video Made Simple podcast, where we will refashion your perception of video by presenting new ideas with tangible outcomes that will change the direction of your business. I'm your host, Chris Schwager, and if you want to improve your video calls on a budget, then improve the way you set up your system, right?

[00:00:24] Makes sense. Video calls have become an integral part of our life, especially for work. It's visual and it's a better way to communicate than telephone calls or written emails or text messages. (funny sounds). We don't want those. Well, why is that? Well, you can see facial expressions, body language. You can hear tone and inflection, all of the components needed that would get in- person. That one really needs in person to build conversations and trust and rapport. Video calls also come with these multimedia perks, right? There are tools you can use to present thorough information such as on screen sharing, recording, or interactive rooms.

[00:01:05] So why would you bother to set all this up? Well, I think there's a huge benefit to doing this, but you need to improve your video calls so that these experiences, uh, appear on brand, they're professional, they're clear, and without a glitch. So here are four steps to improve your video calls, whatever equipment you have.

[00:01:28] Number one, control the environment, with what you have. You know, it's, It is what it is, right? Set up your background first by having your laptop where it is. Don't try, and once you've set your laptop, don't try and move it too much, right? Don't constantly be adjusting it, right? Just leave it alone, but try and consider the background as you do that. If you can isolate any distractions, like phones, keep those on silent, close the door, close the windows and the blinds. If you have harsh lights coming through, don't sit in front of a window with that light coming in from behind you. If your window is behind you, there's a high chance that you'll be in a dark silhouette and that'll just mean that people can't see you and that's no good. You want people seeing your face and all those beautiful nuances that come with you on camera, presenting your that body language, presenting you in full view.

[00:02:25] Number two, test that the camera and the mic's working. You know, how often do you get on a video call and constantly being, trying to adjust that and get that right? Now you can do this before the call starts. And I sometimes get caught out on uh, teams, right? Because it's a new platform. So, allow yourself like a half an hour, particularly if you're going into a new platform that you haven't used before. Go on, get yourself 15 minutes beforehand so you can get everything tested and you know, it's working. Getting close to your camera and mic is a really important step because the pickup is usually, the pickup of the microphone is usually right next to the camera, right? So the closer you are, proximity wise to the camera, the better audio pickup you'll have, and if you have a laptop, try and keep it off the desk where you know you don't want it looking up your nose all the time. That's a really ugly, ugly angle. So if you can maybe prop it up on a couple of books or whatnot to try and get it at eye level. It's a really comfortable non-threatening angle to be using, right? So keep it close, but just try and keep it in front of you.

[00:03:32] Number three, when it comes to wardrobe, make an effort. Dress for the job that you want is something that I've always heard. You know, make an effort, put on a jacket. You know, the interesting thing about video calls, you have the advantage of doing that so quickly and just making a tiny little effort, right? So quickly. I mean, you could be in shorts and thongers and nobody will know. You know, you could have a t-shirt on. But once you put a jacket over the top, or if you're doing the same as a female, like a blouse, a jacket over the blouse or whatever, man, it's, it makes such a big difference and it's such a small thing. You can have that jacket. Sitting on a hangar in your office somewhere and you just pop it on when you need to do these video calls, it can just make a nice impression that you've actually made an effort for the recipient.

[00:04:22] And number four, get closer to the internet router. So many people just rely on wifi. It can really be messy with dropouts and glitches right through the call. So if you can be a little bit closer to the router. But our recommendation is always to try and plug in directly to the ethernet, particularly on a computer that has that access. You wanna hard wire that bad boy in this machine here, when I'm doing video shows, it's always hardwired in, you know, I just rely on a much more stable connection that way, and I don't have any problems. So get close to the router or hardwire it in via the e ethernet cable. If sharing internet with the family as well, just tell them, take a pause. You know, when you are on a meeting, you know, that'll be a huge benefit to you where if you, particularly if you are presenting, you're doing interviews, you're doing training and whatnot, and if your kids are slamming Netflix, then I'd say telling them to go read a book for whatever the duration of your call is, could be very welcomed to keep the speed going.

[00:05:29] These steps may take you time to get into that routine, but when you put it into a habit, becomes easier, more systemized and will benefit you in the long run. When everything's in place, your vehicle's smoother and conversations run uninterrupted, it's easier to focus on your presentation and listen to make the most out of that important call.

[00:05:50] When you minimise the technical variables and prepare properly, you'll eliminate a lot of the process that you usually worry about before, during, or after calls. If you can't bear any longer the equipment that you have and it is killing you, then you want to upgrade your current system. Be sure to check out the DIY video program. It comes with your own desktop studio training and support in a professional cinematographer to do the assembly for you and get it set up once and for all. So the next time you make that call, it's going to be as simple as a flick of a switch.

[00:06:26] Don't forget to subscribe to this channel where you get weekly Video Made Simple ideas to present your videos like a pro. But that's all for this episode. Thanks for listening and see you next week.