7 Tips for Using Skype / FaceTime in Professional Work

The advent of technologies like Skype and FaceTime have allowed musicians to connect with (and work with) other musicians around the world, at a moment’s notice! Certainly other industries are using video conferencing for work meetings, presentations, and more. In music, we can do the same. We can use these tools to hold board meetings, ensemble planning sessions, virtual music lessons, virtual rehearsals with coaches and composers, and the list goes on! But before we simply turn on the computer and hop on FaceTime, here are a few tips to create a successful and professional experience:

1. Consider Your Background – Those you are speaking with will see some of the room around you. Behind you should be something professional – ideally a blank wall or a bookcase. You don’t want a window behind you. You don’t want your bed behind you. You don’t want to show a large area behind you. These are all distracting to the other viewers. You want them to focus on you – so limit the background to a wall behind you that is professional looking. (If you decide to talk them on a “tour” of your studio or home, that’s a different story)
2. Setup a Good Camera Angle – If you are using a laptop, you should elevate the laptop slightly on a music stand or some books. You want the camera itself to be at the same height as your head, or just slightly lower. If you sit a laptop on a desk, the camera will be looking up at you, which is not as professional of a look.
3. Create Good Lighting – You want to be in a room that is well lit, ideally with natural light. You don’t want lights pointing into the camera.
4. Consider Your Microphone – Using the microphone on your computer/tablet/phone is fine. You might consider using (or investing in) an external microphone that can plug into your device and provide even better audio.
5. Limit Noise – Make sure you are in a place where there is very little noise. It will be INCREDIBLY distracting to others if there is noise from other people, animals, traffic, etc.
6. Keep the Internet in Mind – Ideally you want to have an excellent internet connection that is stable. Also, make sure you aren’t downloading or uploading any large files at the time of your session. Reserve as much of your internet bandwidth as possible for your video session.
7. Practice – Test these tools with a friend. Get a sense of how your audio sounds, and how your video feed looks. Get to know the features. For example, in FaceTime, there is an option to display your video in landscape orientation (the default is typically portrait), which might look better to those you are talking to.