I’m about to ask you to do something you won’t want to do: Think back to March 2020.

Schools started closing for “just two weeks.” Public transit slowed or shut down. Most workers earned the moniker “non-essential.” And who knows how many of us signed up for a Zoom account for the first time.

The dawn of our full-fledged remote work culture.

Even now, remote and hybrid work schedules dominate corporate and office work-life. Showing up to a meeting means opening up your laptop, or waking up your phone or tablet, and clicking “join.”

But are we showing up effectively?

In the beginning of the pandemic, as a society we were barely hanging on. The “business mullet” – work clothes on top, shorts or pajamas on the bottom – became the norm for many. We took Zoom meetings in loud family rooms. In poorly lit bedrooms. With our faces barely in frame, if we even turned our camera on.

Back in 2020, who could ask for more from us? We adjusted on the fly and did the best we could.

Now? We should know better. It’s been five years. We lowered our Zoom etiquette expectations for ourselves for good reason then – and now we need to raise them.

How we show up matters. Too much of our work-life occurs online to keep drifting post-pandemic. With a little effort, we improve how we project ourselves into the world. And how the world sees us in return.

Here are three tips to effectively set up your home or office studio for videoconferencing success:

1) LIGHTS

First, let me run through answers to the usual questions I receive from my media training and communications coaching clients (who I love and appreciate!):

• No, your desk lamp isn’t good enough.
• Neither is the window.
• Nor the overhead fixtures.

For an in-person meeting, you wouldn’t deliberately show up in a stained shirt or with massively disheveled hair – unless that’s your style, and then, hey, be yourself!

The equivalent in 2025 is avoidably showing up for a Zoom with uneven lighting and unflattering shadows on your face. A well-lit face helps us present ourselves as warmer, more confident, authoritative, and professional.

The takeaway? Buy a ring light. Today. And please use it every time.

Once the ring light’s in place, a few things to look out for:

• Play around with the color temperature settings (bright, soft white, etc.) to match the lighting you already have in your office or room’s light bulbs.
• Pay attention to where the window or overhead light is hitting your face and position the ring light to balance it out. For example, if a window sits to the right of your desk, make sure to position the ring light to focus on your left cheek.
• Lastly, if you wear glasses, be aware of the reflection in your lenses. If possible, try and raise or lower the height of the ring light to lessen that glare.

2) CAMERA

The next step in our Zoom reset involves positioning your webcam for success―both with the camera’s angle and framing.

For the angle, think about taking a selfie. We usually raise up our cell phone camera so that it’s pointing back down at us. Why? Because it’s slimming and more flattering.

Let’s get in the habit of doing the similar approach with our Zoom cameras. We don’t want to put the cam quite as high as a standard selfie, but the goal should be for the laptop or external webcam’s lens to either be at or slightly above your eye level. That’s not always easy, especially on the go when our laptop sits on a table or shared desk.

When on the go, we can put a couple books or part of our bag underneath the back of the laptop to prop it up a bit―that won’t get you to eye level, but it should help. When at your home office or office office, consider a more permanent solution. Personally, I enjoy a second monitor with an external webcam that’s easily positioned to slightly above my eye level. I plug my laptop into the dock and off I go. Others use a laptop stand and external keyboard, so it’s easy to Zoom and type at the same time. These are just some options to consider.

Then, we make sure to frame up the shot well. Think about a news anchor on TV. They’re perfectly centered on screen. There’s a little bit of space above their head, but not too much. Plus, they’re far enough away from the camera for a graphic with their name to appear on screen without blocking their chin (these are called lower-third graphics because, well, they take up the lower third of the screen). This framing is a good north star for all Zooms―and especially, I tell our media training clients, for anyone conducting a remote news interview.

3) ACTION

Wrapping up our quick guide to resetting our Zoom expectations for ourselves involves action.

As in, there shouldn’t be any around you.

While we still empathize with exceptions, let’s do our best to eliminate distractions behind and around us. Choose the quietest possible room to conduct your Zoom meeting in. If there’s noise around you, wear headphones or earbuds (that you tech check before signing on).

Look behind you and tidy up. If you wouldn’t invite your boss over in-person with your place looking like that, let’s not invite them for a peek over videoconference either. The blur function and company virtual backdrop are phenomenal at helping me avoid cleaning up behind me. I live by it. And it makes every call look that much more professional.

There we go: Lights. Camera. Action.

It’s completely understandable that we developed less than ideal habits at the dawn of remote work culture. Together, let’s stay empathetic to others while resetting our expectations for ourselves―resetting and raising the Zoom bar. You’ve got this!

Looking to boost your virtual meeting and presentation performance? Learn more about HC’s communications coaching programs and contact us today!