Coming to You Live
From the Wall Street Journal, Friday, March 27, 2020
Need to run the show from home? These videoconferencing tips will keep you looking strictly professional.
“A business meeting is still a business meeting, regardless of medium,” says Carol Davidson, a Manhattan-based image consultant who primarily works with executives and entrepreneurs. “There should be no loss of professionalism or productivity.” Ms. Davidson worked with Vicky Hayes after she left New York to start a marketing-consulting company from her home in Greenville, S.C. The first order of business was creating a suitable backdrop for video calls held with clients across the country. She removed clutter, streamlined the titles on her bookshelves and kept family photos out of the picture. When videoconferencing, clients see Ms. Hayes in front of a white wall, with only one piece of artwork—a framed New Yorker magazine cover featuring dogs.
Her first tip: Don’t dress nicely just from the waist up. “The first time I did that, I had to get up to let the dog out,” giving clients a peek of her scruffy leggings.
