First, please don’t join from on the road or in a public space. The background noise will severely impact the audio quality. Schedule for a time that you can call from your home or office.
Second, if you’re running late, that’s ok! Life happens. Just let us know and it all should be fine.
Third, schedule a 15-20 minute prep session to talk about key ideas you want to share. Leadership Daily focuses one three guiding questions: (1) who are you? (2) what’s your focus? and (3) what’s next for the future of leadership? In essence, what do you see as a needed area for aspiring and current leaders to focus upon?
Fourth and finally, check out the discussion below to ensure we have a great audio and video experience for our viewers and listeners.
Your internet connection is the most important aspect to ensure good audio and video. Avoid streaming or downloading during the session.
Your computer is the primary interface to that internet connection. If it’s overloaded with applications running, this can impact the audio and video.
Lighting is the most important aspect of your environment for video quality to ensure our viewers have an excellent experience watching. Follow these tips:
- Make sure you place yourself in a location with ample lighting.
- Be mindful of different lighting types. Incandescent bulbs come in different varieties (e.g., daylight or warm). Likewise, your computer screen casts a certain hue of glow.
- Avoid backlit locations that create a silhouette.
- Try moving a lamp or another light source to improve lighting.
- Consider adding an LED attachment with bi-color selection to improve lighting. I use the Lume Cube Bicolor LED Light https://amzn.to/31ouZzn
Sometimes the camera really matters for video quality. Some devices skimp on the quality of the webcam–that’s completely normal. If lighting doesn’t improve the video quality, and you plan on regularly engaging in these types of activities, consider using a high definition USB webcam to improve over a default device camera. I have used the Logitech C920x HD Pro Webcam https://amzn.to/3nKmhCQ
More than video, we really need clear audio to ensure a solid podcast experience.
- Silence alarms on and turn phones on “do not disturb” mode.
- Let others in the area know that you will be recording audio.
- Close the door if possible to reduce background noise.
- Locate in a room with furnishings to reduce echo.
- Only use a single audio source. Don’t dial in with a phone AND the computer.
- Try using a pair of earbuds or a headset with a built-in microphone. These can be either wired or wireless.
- Apple airpods have great audio and 2nd gen can be picked up at a bargain https://amzn.to/3BxGNeV
- For regularly engaging in such activities, consider an affordable, high-quality condenser microphone: https://amzn.to/3GFyLEj
Have a notepad to write down bullet points as ideas come to mind. Writing down just a single word can help provide focus as you speak.
If your notepad is on a desk and you take notes or type on the computer, it will tend to be picked up as vibrations or audible clicking.
Have water available and drink periodically throughout the session. This will help prevent audible ticks associated with wetting one’s lips.
It’s okay to pause! Um, and, so, well, like, you know, uh, ah, mmm are also okay. A professional audio engineer removes these types of things.