Tuesday 02 February 2021 5:01 am | Updated: Monday 01 February 2021 5:36 pm

Not another one: How to make video calling more productive (and more interesting)

Not everybody is blessed with the trappings of the Presidency to liven up Zoom calls (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

As the UK approaches the end of its first month of the latest lockdown, our experiences of working, studying and teaching from home are showing serious signs of fatigue. We are finding ourselves sitting in front of a webcam for the majority of our days, and whether we’re joining virtual business meetings, teaching, or hosting an online pub quiz, we find ourselves yearning for that little bit of magic to our new online reality.

While the entire nation comes together in adapting to this new way of life, we are finding our new comfort zones – both digitally and physically.

Many of us just don’t want our work colleagues or virtual classrooms to be able to see our home environment. Maybe we are trying to hide the unannounced family members walking in mid-calls, or just attempting to maintain a balance between work and home life.

We all remember when Dr Clare Wenham was interrupted by her daughter live on the BBC all whilst discussing the relationship between central and local government responses to the coronavirus crisis.

Luckily, technology has evolved to bring us that little bit of magic, with new ways to get more out of video calls and to make them more fun and engaging.

So whether you want to hide your stuff, share the load, or make the next meeting more fun, there are ways that tech innovations can help you get through the rest of lockdown. Here are my top five tips for improving video calls and presentations.

Create the feel of your workplace. To get the most out of virtual work, create a standard look and feel for your meetings using a virtual background. It will also help you hide away your stuff, and disguise the family member intrusion on your lesson.
Bring backgrounds to life. Use a virtual background to show slides, images or a video demo, meaning others focus on you while you talk, and can see what you’re presenting at the same time. Just like in a real life meeting.
Record your sessions. Try to pre-record your presentation, or record each presentation you deliver on the go for those who couldn’t make it, removing the need to send slides after every meeting.
Hands up. Especially for big meetings, encourage people to put their hands up before speaking. It will help create more order in your meeting. Many video conferencing tools have a button for this, or you can try using Augmented Reality technology like our ‘Big Hand Mode’.
Go copilot. As often as you can, buddy up with a colleague to co-present. This was common for in-person meetings, but on video calls the spotlight can sometimes be on one person. Work with a colleague to present collaboratively or have a second person drive the presentation whilst you focus on engaging with the audience.

One thing the pandemic has highlighted is that businesses are more than capable of functioning – and even thriving – through times of crisis.

As a result, we are likely to continue spending an increasing amount of time on video calls, even as we draw a line under the pandemic. It’s essential that we make a conscious effort to continue to make them fun and enjoyable, much like we did in the first national lockdown. With the smart use of technology, this can be simple. So experiment a little and make the most of what’s available to present, collaborate, and entertain.