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The Best Trick For Improving Your FaceTime And Zoom Calls – Tech Tuesday In Two Minutes

We’ve all spent too much time on Zoom and FaceTime this past year.

Body language is a tough thing in the virtual world and on video conference calls.
We can’t read people as well online.
Especially when we’re (hardly) even seeing their faces.
Even a darkened light or a bad connection can ruin a great message.
Even more confusing is how most people don’t make eye contact.
This happens, because we’re looking at the other person’s face on the screen (and not at the tiny camera).
This is common and a tough habit to break.
Staring into a camera is not easy.

Staring into a camera is not natural.

Apple has solved for that.
FaceTime’s latest feature (available on iOS 14) is Eye Contact.
It should already be enabled on your phone (if not, go to your Settings > FaceTime and look for the Eye Contact setting).
It works.
It’s magic.

Are there any other options to fix this problem of not making eye contact (like if you’re on a laptop)?

Yes! Check out PlexiCam.
It’s a great solution for laptops or monitors that use an external webcam.
A simple (and physical) solution to a hard problem.

Better eye contact will make your video conference calls way less painful. Promise.

The full story is here: How to fake eye contact on a FaceTime call (yes, you can do that) (Mashable).

This is what Heather Backman and I discussed this morning over on Jack 103 FM for a couple of minutes.

What is Tech Tuesday?

If you ever find yourself wondering… What, exactly, is the point of TikTok? How can I make myself look better on a Zoom? Reddit? What’s that about? How do I help my kids be safer online? Who’s the latest creator and streamer that I should be checking out?

You are not alone.

Every Tuesday – for just a few minutes – I join Heather Backman (my old buddy from her days on CHOM FM) on the air at Jack 103 (Rogers Sports & Media) to give a quick blast about the current state of technology, media and Internet culture. We’re calling the segment Tech Tuesday (and we do it in just a few minutes).

Once the segment goes live on Jack 103, I will post it here for you to listen in, learn, share and engage….

https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/1060151209

Mitch Joel · Tech Tuesday – Jack 103 FM – June 1st, 2021

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Mitch Joel

Mitch Joel lives at the intersection of technology, business transformation and consumer culture. He is the Executive Director of Next Era Institute, a strategic intelligence platform helping leaders understand the forces reshaping business, technology, culture and society. The Institute identifies which shifts matter, explores their wider significance and translates them into strategic direction and momentum. Mitch is also a globally recognized keynote speaker. He has delivered thousands of presentations across both B2B and B2C industries to organizations including Google, Walmart, LEGO, Shopify, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Strategy Magazine has called him “one of North America’s leading visionaries.” Mitch built his career by working directly inside the waves of change that reshaped modern business. He founded and built a digital marketing agency that worked with some of the world’s largest brands and was later acquired by WPP, where he served as President of a firm operating in 25 countries with almost 3,000 employees. Mitch is the bestselling author of Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete, and the host of Thinking With Mitch Joel, one of the longest-running business podcasts in the world. His writing and commentary appear in outlets including Harvard Business Review, Fast Company and Inc. Magazine. He is a member of Dr. Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches and was named to the Thinkers50 Radar. Mitch also hosts Groove – The No Treble Podcast, documenting the oral history of electric bass players. Mitch is also Co-Founder of ThinkersOne, a platform that enables companies to bring personalized thought leadership from world-class experts into meetings, events and off-sites in focused 15-minute bursts.