7 Great Tips for Looking and Sounding Good on a Webcam



1. Use A Lot of Light
Webcam sensors are small, and you need a good amount of light to let the lens see you properly.
2. Use A Decent Mic
The built-in mic on your computer usually isn’t adequate for this kind of thing.  You don’t even have to get something all that expensive.  Even something like iPhone earbuds with a mic on it would work fine.  Just something that blocks out distracting ambient noise.
3. Use Headphones
Eliminate any kind of echo that might occur from other people speaking that might get picked up by your microphone.  Also, use something that kind of blends in with the clothes you wear so that the headphones aren’t distracting.
4. Look at the Camera
Making eye contact can be difficult because you can see all these people on your screen, and you want to follow them, but then you aren’t looking at the camera directly above the screen.  Looking at the camera engages your audience a lot better than when you seem to be just looking down.
5. Avoid Glare from Glasses
It’s recommended that you wear contacts during a webcam session because many times the glare from your computer monitor shows up in your glasses, making it hard to see your eyes.  People connect better when they can see your eyes (sort of like we discussed in the previous step).  Also, the lights you may have set up can cause glare as well.
6. Wear Solid Colors
Avoid crazy patterns.  Wearing white is best since the aperture of your camera will try to adjust for all the light in the room.  Wearing something like black will lot in a lot more ambient light, while wearing white will make the camera adjust accordingly and avoid overexposure.
7. Center Yourself
Get close enough to the camera so that people can see your shoulders and your face, but not so far back that they can’t see your eyes, and don’t give yourself crazy amounts of headroom where there’s this gigantic space above your head.