Author | Josh Whitaker
Do you often find yourself needing to present webinars or other conferences from home during the age of COVID-19? Maybe you even use a designated office space for them, but you don’t feel comfortable with your virtual set.
It can be surprisingly anxiety-inducing. The thought of hundreds of people tuning in to your virtual webinar, stream or other event and seeing the background you have selected.
Not to worry! We’ll be presenting a list of tips that will help you avoid the awkwardness of an untidy or unprofessional virtual set during your presentations.
Backdrops for Virtual Sets
Your backdrop & virtual set are going to be, arguably, the most important part of your on-screen branding. An untidy scene conveys an image of unprofessionalism or disorganization, which you definitely do not want to be communicating to clients or colleagues.
Conversely, a pristine backdrop with almost nothing in sight is a little too suspicious. Nobody lives in a perfectly clean home (unless you’re a neat freak), so a backdrop like this could make it appear that you have tried too hard to impress.
Tricky, right? You need to strike a balance between untidy and trying too hard.
Here are a couple of tips that can make it easier to manage your background & Virtual Set:
Move your desk away from the wall
- Move your desk away from the wall. Usually, people place their desks facing a wall. However, this creates a problem when the time comes for video presentations. If you are facing a wall, it would mean that the rest of the room is visible in the background. This only gives you more space to worry about! Move your desk so that your back is against a wall – this would mean that you only need to worry about making that part of the wall look presentable.
- Sit facing a light source. If you can, you want windows in front of you when you are giving a digital webinar, conference or presentation. As many have discovered during these weeks of remote work during COVID-19, having a light source behind you only serves to make your face invisible and your background blurry!
Source: Webinar Ninja
- Consider which room you are using. Your living room might make the broadcast look a little too relaxed, depending on the subject you will be talking about. A kitchen backdrop could be strange (unless you are presenting a cookery webinar) and your bedroom is a definite no-no. Try to achieve a professional-looking background, but keep some signs of home comforts such as a cozy chair. This will help you to strike a balance between professional and homely.
- Leave some profession-related hints. Do you work as a fitness pro? You might want to leave a gym mat on the floor. Giving a lecture about geographical processes? Your decorative globe can stay. Get the idea?
Decorate your own background / Virtual Set
Tired of bland office backgrounds or custom Zoom backgrounds? Spend a little time decorating the part of your home you would like to use for video conferences. Consider staples such as a bookcase, clock and any other personalized staples that are relevant to your profession.
If you are feeling extra creative and have time to pass, you can always go down the route of stitching your own background decor. Use brand colors and create pieces of art that express your platform wonderfully. That would definitely leave an impression on the audience you are presenting to!
Extra Tips for Successful Webinar Branding & Virtual Sets
As well as your backdrop, there are some other factors to be considered if you are trying to create an awesome environment from which to broadcast to your audience.
- Use artificial lighting to achieve brand colors. Does your brand have a very noticeable color pattern? If your primary color is purple, for example, consider purchasing a tool such as the Philips Hue lighting system to create an ambient purple light to use while you broadcast.
- Consider how you are dressed. You are the main attraction on your webinar set! Dress for the occasion. Of course, what you choose to wear depends greatly on the type of brand you are representing. Just be careful if you choose to wear formal clothing like a suit and tie – these can easily come off as if you are trying too hard to look credible.
- Think about any words that appear on screen. Whether it’s book titles, neon signs or a poster, there might be some items on your set that contain words. These should always be in line with your brand voice, or at least not directly oppose it. You don’t want to be hosting a formal webinar about investing in stocks, only to be visually dominated by a flashing “Live, Laugh, Love” sign.
It is all about congruence when hosting a webinar. You need everything to be in line with your brand personality, from lighting to backdrop and your clothing.
However, it is nothing to be afraid of! Just spend some time thinking about exactly what your brand is, and how your video set should appear in line with that image.
