With just 3 inexpensive products, you can upgrade your remote work video meetings to help you look and sound your best!
In the last few years, most of us have been part of virtual meetings. While some aspects of our work may be back in person now, video calls have a lot of benefits and will continue to be a part of most jobs in the future.
That’s why it’s so important to invest in products that help us present ourselves well in virtual meetings. Just like we make an effort to look and sound our best in-person, we want to look and sound professional on video too!
As a remote worker, I’ve found that these three inexpensive products can greatly improve the quality of your virtual meetings and presentations, so you can look and sound your best (even if you’re still wearing your pajama pants ;)).
1. Microphone
This is the first thing you should buy to upgrade your remote work video calls. Sound quality is super important because people will continue watching a choppy or frozen video if they can still hear you loud and clear. Even before worrying about how you look, make sure you can be heard.
While laptops are great, the microphone and audio are low quality, even in the nicer laptops. Thankfully, there are lots of good options for affordable, high-quality microphones that provide much better sound quality than the microphone in your laptop.
- The Blue Yeti Nano is my top choice for a remote work microphone. It’s great for video calls, presentations, meetings, and more, and is usually in the $80-$100 price range.
- If you want something even more affordable, the Blue Snowball iCE and the Anker PowerCast M300 are both within the $40-$50 price range. While they’re not quite as nice as the Blue Yeti Nano, these are both great choices for remote work video calls, and still better than a laptop microphone.
2. Camera
Like laptop microphones, the camera on your laptop is pretty low quality, and not ideal for frequent video meetings. An external USB webcam is a great, inexpensive product that can make a huge difference in upgrading your remote work video calls.
- My favorite webcam is the Anker C300. It works really well even in dim or poor lighting. They often go on sale for under $100.
- One of the best features of the Anker C300 is the built-in AI technology. This enables the camera to turn and continue to face you as you move around the room!
- I’ve found this to be especially helpful for things like virtual presentations, where you may need to walk around to write on a whiteboard or give a demonstration. The Anker C300 can even zoom in to give a better view of what you’re writing!
3. Lighting
Good lighting makes a huge difference in video quality. It also ties in with a webcam, because both a good camera and good lighting impact how people see you on video calls.
- My first tip to improve your lighting (without spending any money!) is to simply move your desk to face a window. If you’re facing outside, the natural sunlight will light your face in a much clearer, less artificial way than a lamp or ceiling light does.
If you can’t move your remote workspace, or you often work when it’s dark outside, there are some great lighting options available to help you look your best on video calls.
- The Logitech Litra Glow is a nice, portable desk light that’s designed to provide natural and adjustable light for less than $60. Simply plug in the USB cord, and adjust the brightness settings from the light itself, or from your computer with the Logitech software.
- Lume Cube also offers some great lighting options, like the Edge Desk Light and the Broadcast Lighting Kit.
- If you’re looking for a ring light, the Neewer RL-12 is awesome for everything from remote work meetings to recording videos.
If you wear glasses, one thing to keep in mind is that a lot of artificial lights reflect glare on glasses lenses. While this isn’t usually a major problem, it can be a little distracting. Here are a few tips to avoid glare on your glasses:
- Ring Lights: Position the ring light slightly above your face and angled down, rather than straight in front of you.
- Two Lights: Use two lights, one from either side, angled diagonally, so they cross in an X shape, meeting in the middle at your face.
Those are my top 3 products for upgrading your remote work video meetings! Start with a high-quality microphone, then invest in a nice webcam and good lighting!
If you’re a remote worker, don’t miss this post: The Top 3 Reasons a Desk Should be Your First Remote Work Purchase to create the best remote work setup for you! Thanks for reading :)