In today’s fast-paced world of video conferencing technology there’s a multitude of options when deploying and installing equipment – from the simple to the sophisticated.
Many factors have to be fused together to create a compelling and life-like call experience, in a consistent and rewarding way. The art of communication continues to evolve!
Quality equipment does make a significant difference. Quality really matters. It’s one of the many reasons we decided to produce a 4K PTZ camera early on. We believe this is where a lot of the platforms such as Teams will go next. In the future video calls will be conducted in 4K not HD. Raising the bar and raising the game in terms of quality will lead to a greater customer experience.
Through these interesting, challenging and evolving times, from lockdowns to hybrid working, conferencing has been at the fulcrum of dramatic changes in daily and working life; how people interact and communicate, almost from anywhere. Choosing the right equipment is crucial. That could be plug-and-play or more powerful full room integrated systems.
Global economies still face many challenges. To survive an unstable economic climate, business leaders are looking to technology solutions that cut costs, amplify productivity, and accelerate ROI. Automation tools are widely considered “recession-proof” because they reduce operating costs, increase efficiencies, and build the strong digital foundation organisations need to weather any storm.
Knowledge gap
We recognise it’s a fast moving space so there might still be a knowledge gap for some AV installers and resellers in certain areas of the market - from audio and video technology to meeting etiquette.
There are definitely gaps in expertise following the fast transition of people working from home and an explosion in software-based solutions such as Teams and Zoom. Manufacturers need to be the piece that’s missing in the sector.
Our goal is to emphasise the vital role hardware plays to improve the meeting experience. Manufacturers should be trusted advisors about the best end points to drive the end user experience. It’s about matching the right equipment to the right rooms and helping organisations to transition at whatever stage of the journey they are on.
Some installers perhaps used to sell traditional telephone systems then IP handsets but now cloud-based full unified comms systems are taking over with video at their heart. So they have to adapt to maintain their revenue streams and that’s where manufacturers should come in with their knowledge and expertise.
The quality of audio and video plus user friendly technology all have to combine to create the ultimate life-like video call experience. It doesn’t happen by chance.
However it doesn’t matter how good the technology is. If it’s not being used on a regular basis in the right way then the whole investment and experience is undermined. It has to be reliable, easy to operate and effective.
Body language
Maintaining face-to face eye contact is crucial for a rewarding and life-like call experience. Body language is part of the art of communication, with great hardware vs not so great hardware a vital component of overall success.
Building a bond and rapport happens in many different ways. Being relaxed, happy and friendly goes a long way.
So much human interaction happens through body language and facial expressions. A smile can light up a room and make someone happy without any words. Emotion is powerful. A meeting is an encounter between people, where we constantly read each other. An interaction. First impressions count.
It takes just a split second to read a face. Attractiveness, whether or not the face is familiar, emotions and whether or not the person appears to be friendly. These can all be quickly established.
The encounter is conducted to a large extent through looks. A look unconsciously reveals emotions. It can be the crucial factor in deciding whether or not you believe what a person is saying. We are often drawn to the happy faces in a group. The reason for this is that people seek out positivity. Information is passed on more quickly via facial expression and hand movements than by the spoken word. We can react at lightning speed.
It’s all in the eyes
When we meet physically, we can read each other directly with a look and the whole process is unconscious. Looks are important for turn taking; when we have eye contact, we control whose turn it is and we confirm that we have each other’s attention and that we are following conversation. In a video conference, the turn taking is different. It’s not always easy to manage with some people ‘fighting’ to get their voice heard.
When people are speaking, eye contact is important for those they are communicating with, so they should always look towards the conference camera and screen when speaking, rather than anyone in front of them in the room.
You want to be able to read their expressions, body language, eyes etc while speaking to discern how a message is coming across. Having the camera at eye level mounted with the screen gives the most natural assimilation of eye contact while allowing for the reading of unspoken cues. It’s good to look straight in the camera when you want to really drive a point home or appeal to someone in the most sincere way.
Body language and making eye contact needs to be flexible as well as natural and tailored to different scenarios - being able to tailor an approach whether that’s teaching, pitching or selling. Being able to adapt is very important on a video call. Some miss that when trying to create inclusivity and equality. This is particularly hard with a large group when everyone is split up into little square boxes on a screen.
From our own independent research and speaking to resellers, 48% of people worry about how they look on video, whilst 59% feel more self-aware. To overcome some of the challenges we always suggest putting the camera at eye level on the same wall as the main display so that it’s natural and easy to engage directly with people.
We feel something like a 360 degree camera is actually counter intuitive to the way we communicate. Also because more people are using video calls now they are more conscious of their appearance. They want to look their best and can now physically see themselves in a different way on screen.
Feedback from customers definitely indicates people are more conscious and want to improve their image. For us, if we’re conducting a big webinar for example, when prepping content we’re also prepping our appearance. We do pay special attention and take more time.
A video call has become part of daily working life for many people. It’s probably one of the biggest lasting legacies of the pandemic. There’s no going back. Jumping on a video call is now part of working culture. Being smart and professional is hugely important. Equally people need to be seen and heard clearly too.
Choose wisely
With so many different cameras and speakerphones on the market. How do you know which are best for your customers, for now and the future too? Forming effective, long-standing partnerships with manufacturers and distributors built on trust can help provide a competitive advantage.
For us it’s about offering the highest levels of support to installers and resellers through the distribution channel and going the extra mile, not a bland ‘Me-too’ brand.
We recognise installers have the relationship with customers. Together we can help them transition to the new world we live in – as we all play a part in influencing the changing face of video conferencing.
Fredrik Hörnkvist, Co-Founder Boom Collaboration