The Top 1% Of Presenters Use These Zoom Tactics

Placement, background, eye contact

Katrine Tjoelsen
March 21, 2023

Hey, fellow learner 👋

In every interaction, others subconsciously assess how trustworthy, competent, and friendly we are.

So — how do you come across on Zoom? Are you able to create connection through the screen?

👇 To be your best, explore today’s Zoom tips.

Pro Zoom Tactics That Don’t Cost A Single Dollar

📚 Put a stack of books under your laptop, if you’re using your laptop camera

You want your webcam at eye level.

If you’re using your laptop camera, use a stack of books or a box to move your laptop higher up.

📷 Look in the camera, especially when presenting

When we look at our presentation on Zoom, participants don’t feel as if they’re getting eye contact with us.

Even worse is looking at a second monitor while using your laptop camera…

Instead: Look in the camera when you’re speaking. It’s okay to glance back and forth between the presentation, the other participants, and the camera.

But dare not ignore the camera.

💁 Position yourself to fill most of the screen

If you’re too far away, your background becomes a distraction.

You’re already a tiny person on someone’s screen. Don’t make yourself even smaller.

Position yourself in the center and show your shoulders. Then gesture with your hands higher up than usual, so your gestures still come through on video.

💡 Put a light source in front of you

No need for a fancy, studio setup.

It’s like when you’re taking photos outside: If the sun is behind someone, all you see is their silhouette.

Fix it by moving a lamp in front of you.

🏞️ Tailor your background image based on who you’re meeting

Here’s how I adapt based on who I’m meeting:

Friends: I keep my natural background, often blurred
Stanford alums: I use an image of Stanford’s campus to allude to our shared experience
Norwegian job interviews: I use a simple, built-in background image of a living room

What else?

Tools for Zoom

Two tools I’m experimenting with:

https://krisp.ai/, which uses AI to remove background noise from video calls
https://otter.ai/, which automatically transcribes and summarizes meetings

Would love to hear your thoughts if you have experience with them 🙂

What I’d spend money on

When I move back to Norway this summer, I’ll invest in an external webcam and a proper headset.

When so much of our workday is online, why not show up as our best?

Next newsletter coming this Saturday

So far you’ve received these newsletters on Tuesdays.

But hey, hurray, starting this week you’ll be getting them on Saturdays instead 🎉🎉🎉