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Upping your online meeting/video capabilities at home

Things have changed in the past few months.

It’s no longer about if you’re meeting on Zoom.
Now, it’s all about keeping people’s attention.
Now, it’s all about keeping people engaged when you’re meeting
Now, it’s all about presenting the best “you” possible

We’re all getting tired.

We’re all getting Zoomed out.
One way to make your meetings better, is to make yourself look (and sound) better.

If you’re using the webcam that comes with your laptop, there are some better options.

If you’re already a few steps ahead of this, but still want to amp up how you look online, then this is for you as well.
If you’re not interested in upgrading to a mirrorless DSLR camera (which would be the black belt level), then this might also be of interest to you.
I’ve been a huge fan of Logitech’s Brio HD webcam.
So much so, that I purchased a second one to offer multiple angles when I present/record a virtual keynote/attend a meeting.
Then Elgato (the company that makes the amazing Stream Deck) released an app called, EpocCam Pro (around $10), that will turn your smartphone (in my case, it’s an iPhone 11 Pro) into a webcam.
I have both the iPhone and the Logitech Brio running through the amazing Ecamm Live Pro software on my MacBook Pro.

Here are the results.

Keep in mind, I did not tweak the lighting (much).
This was just a test to compare the best HD webcam with an iPhone.

What do you think?

My takeaways:
It’s become easy to upgrade.
It’s become lazy to not look and sound as good as possible in virtual meetings.
There are many ways to make this work and try new ways to connect with my audience.
What’s most amazing is just how much the broadcasting technology has advanced (both hardware and software) in the past few years.
Check it out right here:

Before you go: Are you interested in what’s next? How to decode the future? I publish between 2-3 times per week and then the Six Pixels of Separation Podcast comes out every Sunday. Feel free to subscribe (and tell your friends 😉.

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.