Coronavirus: Video calls aid isolation during coronavirus but there are traps

A heads up for the isolated new to video conferencing: don’t mix that call with the call of nature.

Be careful about what you do during video conferences.

Spare a thought for Jennifer, the girl immortalised on social media when she inadvertently kept a video conference streaming when she shouldn’t have.

It’s one of the pitfalls of video calling, which is an increasingly popular and fulfilling way of keeping in touch with family, friends and workmates as we hunker down at home.

Skype, Facebook Messenger video, Google Duo, WhatsApp video and FaceTime are some of the options people use. You can video chat to people using your phone, a tablet or iPad, on a computer through an app or through a browser, or even better, in classy Star Trek style to someone full screen on your big screen TV.

However, there are pitfalls, the biggest being displaying something very personal in your surroundings at home that your friends, or more particularly, a horde of your colleagues on a conference call get to see inadvertently.

In the case of Jennifer, the transgression wasn’t that bad. Sure her colleagues saw a bit of her, in the bathroom, trousers at half-mast positioned while answering a call of nature, but the embarrassment level would have been enormous, especially with the video going viral.

We fear Jennifer won’t need prompting to go into self isolation.

She’s not the only one. You could be in the middle of an important conference call at home and your children charge into the room, including your toddler in its walker, as happened in this serious BBC foreign affairs interview on North Korea.

I can’t be self righteous about this. Just this week I was in the midst of a long video conference when a radio station called on my smartphone for a short interview. I forgot to mute my microphone in my haste, so everyone at that conference heard my interview with the presenter Barry. The first hint that something was awry was a message from a conference colleague: “Say hi to Barry from all of us”. Lesson learned.

If you sleep in, only to realise you had a work video call at 7.30am, don’t leave the video feed on if you’re still in bed. You’re not employed to deliver pillow talk. Better – set an alarm and get-up early. Don’t be slovenly. It’s not kosher to do work-related videoconferencing from your bedroom anyway. Your unmade bed with clothing strewn across it doesn’t make a professional background. Nor should your workmates see you munching on a sandwich or drinking your fibre supplements, even a Corona beer, during a video meeting.

Don’t curse or swear, thinking that the audio mute button is on, when it may not be off, and be doubly certain that the video conference call is totally over, but not continuing in the background when you resume local conversations.

Here are some tips for etiquette when calling family, friends, and workmates alike.

* With a business video conference, check that you have the required video software loaded and your device is ready before the call. Check that BOTH video and audio operates correctly; you don’t want technical difficulties interrupting proceedings.

* Choose an appropriate background. If you’re using a mobile device, move to your living room or study, or somewhere with an impressive background. Not the bathroom or bedroom. Video platforms like Zoom let you use a photo to create a fake background. Try some art or something original for a virtual background. Australian graphics design platform Canva has built a Zoom Background Creator for designing your own video virtual backgrounds. People will know you’re not at the Eiffel Tower or in the Himalayas if you use those backgrounds as some habitually do. If you can’t do that, switch off the video and participate with audio only;

* Lockdowns mean that we are at home with family. Find a separate room or area and lock the door if you want to avoid kids or others bursting into the room during an important video meeting;

* Be very conscious of audio. Make sure you start meetings with your audio muted, and switch audio on only when you intend to make a comment, and then switch it off again. Don’t curse or swear under your breath, or call out the presenter at a webinar as “a dollop” thinking audio is muted. Make sure a videoconference or audio conference is totally disconnected before resuming local conversations.

* Turn off notifications on phones, tablets and computers. The problem is not just the audio prompt constantly ringing during notifications. People might see notifications if you are presenting. You don’t need your workmates, bosses or even friends to know that you have a new match on Tinder, or see a calendar reminder that your job interview with a competing firm is three hours away. Likewise, if you are sharing or mirroring a screen, ensure that screens with private information won’t pop up. There are settings and apps that help with that, but you should be able to configure this yourself.

* Don’t eat during work video or audio conferences. Not only might people hear or see you, it’s just rude. Wait until afterwards.

* Look good during video calls, groomed, shaved and dressed, and not in your PJs. Have a well lit room and diffuse light shining at you to avoid a dull, grey, complexion. Don’t take video calls with a window behind you, otherwise you end up as a silhouette. Place a tablet, computer, or video camera on a stand in front of you slightly raised, so that it looks down towards you. It’s a more flattering angle. You’ll get close ups of necks, chins, nostrils and nose hairs if the camera is positioned close and low. Don’t forget you’re on a video call in the middle of a smart phone conversation, and place the phone next to your ear. Ear canals and ear wax can look blurry and uninviting, as are extreme close-ups of your face, skin blemishes, pimples and acne. Preview your appearance on video before the call.

* Above all, enjoy the convenience and feeling of connectedness that video calling offers you during this time of isolation. Stay safe.