Avoid First Time Videoconferencing Jitters

So you’ve just received an email announcing that you’ve been invited to a company videoconference. Congratulations, first off. You can usually get the opportunity to work closely with individuals that may otherwise be too busy to take the time to travel between companies. But what are you supposed to do if you are completely and horribly camera shy? Or what if you don’t know how to work the webcam or setup your account for the conference? What should you even wear?

There are a lot of questions that can pop up once the initial excitement subsides of being a part of a potentially lucrative and educational business experience.

Dealing with being camera shy.

If you find yourself constantly struggling to hide your face whenever a friend goes to take a selfie of the two of you then you probably cringe at the thought of having to get in front of the camera for your coworkers and business affiliates. It seems like there is going to be a lot of attention on your appearance but there really isn’t that much.

The truth of matters is that people are the most attentive to your eye contact and your focus on the meeting when doing a videoconference. Obviously you want to dress for the job you want, and not the one you have, but don’t worry so much about everyone having their attention on you. Remember you’re not the only one in the meeting.

Don’t fiddle with things

Fiddling. We all do it. Whether it is a foot tapping, clicking a pen back and forth, or even something more hygienically offensive such as chewing on your fingernails, the desire to pacify our time is downright unavoidable at times. You have to remember that just because the only thing your coworkers can see is your face it doesn’t mean that is all they are going to be able to hear.

Do your best to curb this behavior. You don’t want to be the source of that incessant clicking everyone has been hearing for the past few minutes. Like many meetings, if you need to excuse yourself, simply do so. No big deal.

It’s not a beauty pageant

Even though we’ve already made a point of the fact that videoconferencing isn’t a beauty pageant, you do need to make sure that you are in good lighting. Good lighting is basically any lighting that is bright and white. If you can avoid yellow lighting it is best. What you find comfortable in your home space is most likely going to be different than the setup that you are going to want to use for your webinar.

Be sure to face the camera as squarely as possible and sit with as best of posture as you can. Any amount of backlighting that you can cut down on is only going to work in your advantage to obtain a crisp clear professional image. The more you keep this simple, the easier it is going to be for you to focus more on the material at hand and not on how well your coworkers are able to see you.

Hey DJ

It seems like common sense, but you would be surprised how many people think it is allowable to have something as apparently harmless as a desk waterfall running during a video session. The peaceful waterfall can keep the mind calm and productive, but the sound comes across completely different during a meeting. It goes without saying that deciding to be the personal DJ for everyone in attendance is also probably not a good idea.

Getting to Know You

Considering it’s your first videoconference you probably are going to need to familiarize yourself with the software that you are going to be using.  You may feel like you are the only person in your office that doesn’t know the first thing about how to go about participating in a webinar. The good thing is that most people are willing to help, and if they don’t have the time, perhaps can point you in the direction that you need.

Competitive environments can make it hard to want to ask for help. But don’t wind up being the one that is completely clueless. There is a very good chance that along with your invitation came the necessary information you need to get yourself all setup and ready to go. If you need to, do a little research yourself and see what you can find in terms of familiarizing yourself. You may not even really need the hands-on help of somebody else.

Finding Your Footing

The first videoconference that you do is a major stepping stone in your career development. Congratulations and welcome to the wonderful world of technology. After a little practice of familiarizing yourself with it and getting your feet wet a bit you should be able to easily begin to appreciate all of the wonderful benefits of using videoconferencing in the workplace.