The glance to the corner of your screen, a quick check of your hair. Let’s face it, we all do it. Stop looking at yourself! – The new norm could not be further from a boardroom filled with colleagues or a one on one with a co-worker, or prospective employer!

The temptation to have a quick glance at your ‘reflection’ is too good to resist, and to be honest it’s draining enough keeping up with your own expectations let alone others. 

The fast fix? –  Select the ‘Hide Yourself View’ and you will no longer be visible to yourself whilst remaining present for colleagues and clients alike. – Alternatively minimise the platform you are using. This way you are not staring at faces for the duration, yours or anyone else’s.

 ‘You’re on mute’! – Perhaps the most used phrase to come from the pandemic. Even with so many months practice working remotely, and although it may elicit some jokes, please use the mute button! 

 No meeting Monday, the new way to start your week, whether this is companywide or just your department, simply take a day off video calls to recharge. Another approach, don’t default to video, work on your written communication.

• How often do we sit in a meeting wondering how long it would have taken to pop into an email? – Video calls require formalities that communicating with non-visual tools does not. Just do it, ask for an alternative form of communication and if you’re the organiser skip the formalities and ditch the Zoom!

Don’t get us wrong, Zoom calls are great! In a time where the professional world was shaken, video conferencing has been a sense of comfort in all the mayhem. Spend time connecting with your co-workers. The lack of interaction with others has been prevalent in the last year or so, video calls can be a way to bring your team together. Jump on a quick call with something other than work in mind, encourage some chat and activity if this suits the culture of your company, in turn this provides a sense of comradery and can enhance productivity where you start not just associating a video call with long arduous meetings.

Other than varying time zones, are there reasons not to have an early start to your day? Fight the Zoom fatigue by getting them out of the way! – put energy into the call whilst you still can. Get into a routine morning coffee, morning Zoom! 

 A little light goes a long way! – One tip, don’t sit with a window behind you, make sure you are well-lit and not simply a shadow on your colleague’s screens. Not only does this help others, but a well-lit environment (preferably natural light) is a way to keep the cogs ticking over even when you are feeling a little drowsy.

Check out some great interview prep tips here!