1. Engagement is better when the camera is eye level. This can be achieved by placing the laptop on a stack of books. If the camera lens is on the laptop vs a stand alone webcam, is also advisable to keep the laptop screen as close to 90 degrees as possible to avoid having the camera “looking up your nose”.

2. Position yourself a reasonable distance from the camera to avoid filling up the viewer’s screen entirely with your face. This will help with camera focus and also gives a sense of space in the frame. A good rule of thumb is to sit far enough away that your torso is in the shot. Also try to ensure that your background isn’t too distracting (e.g. make sure the laundry is out of frame).

3. Ensure your face is well lit and the source of light is coming from in front of you. If possible avoid sitting with your back to a window or lamp. This is called backlighting and will cause your video to look dark.

4. It is very important to use headphones. This is to ensure there is no echo, as the computer microphone will pick up the audio of other presenters. Wearing headphones will also improve the audio quality by minimising algorithmic echo cancelation built into web conference software.

5. Avoid the urge to watch your own camera feed and instead focus on delivering your talk into the camera lens. It’s easy to forget you’re on camera, but your viewers can tell when you’re looking elsewhere on the screen.

6. It is important to minimise any environmental distractions such as phone notifications, pets, visitors, and outside noise like traffic. For this reason, when not speaking it’s vital to mute your microphone. Just remember to unmute yourself when you need to speak again. Other distracting noises to be aware of are things like bracelets clinking or rustling papers.

7. If sharing content on your screen, ensure you don’t inadvertently share sensitive information like emails or personal details (watch for open tabs on web browsers). The easiest way to avoid this is to check that only the relevant content is visible on screen before you go live.

8. If you’re moderating a session and asking audience Q&A to panelists, it’s a good idea to get the next question ready before the current answer is finished. Remember the panelists are answering the audience and it’s your job to keep things moving. Also, it’s often helpful to name the person you are directing a question to at the start. For example “Ram, a question for you - how would you...” rather than “How would you.... ah, Ram, what do you think?”. This gives your respondent time to process and offer a more valuable response.

9. Don’t be afraid to be more animated when speaking as you’re missing a lot of the non verbal cues viewers are used to. Similarly, it’s also important to remain visibly engaged when others are speaking vs. quietly waiting your turn or checking emails. You would be surprised how many people will still be paying attention to you while you’re “off stage”.

10. It can feel a bit daft when many are working from home now but its more engaging for viewers if you’ve put some thought and attention to your appearance as we are visual creatures drawn to things that look good. Making an effort with your visual presentation vs. casual attire is the difference between being taken more seriously vs. someone assuming you just closed off Netflix before jumping on the call. It’s okay for your audience to be in pyjamas but not for you.