 If you are working in a corporate environment, chances are you have already worked from home during the COVID lockdown. Even if you have resumed work from the office, you will have to interact with others who work from home. In this video, I will explain how Toastmasters, a non-profit organization committed to developing your communication and leadership skills, help you to be more effective in this new normal that has been thrust upon us due to the onset of COVID pandemic. But first, I would like to thank the leadership team of District 99 for inviting me to create this video. My name is Kajitan Barreto. I create YouTube videos to help Toastmasters navigate the online world on my YouTube channel Tech Photosmasters. My day job is a head of project management office. This gives me great insight into how Toastmasters and work from home go hand in hand. Getting work done using online meetings is part and parcel of our lives now. Two years ago, most of us did not know about Zoom. Today, Zoom is one of the most valuable companies in the world. When it comes to the corporate environment, we may be more accustomed to Microsoft Teams. Microsoft has invested millions to make Teams the tool of choice for online communications in corporate environment. Regardless of the choice of online tools, your communication skills play a key role in getting things done in a team environment. So how does one master communication skills when the only thing between you and the others is a laptop with an internet connection? I have observed over the past two years a very predictable phenomena. When there is a meeting in progress, you will have different stakeholders present in the meeting, top management, middle managers, and the supervisors and technical staff. The top management invariably wants to be seen and be heard. When they speak, they switch on their camera and ensure that their message is understood by all by using facial expressions, tone, and gestures. When it comes to middle management, you will see some communicate with their camera on while some prefer to keep the camera off. The technical and supervisory staff will almost never switch on their video. It is as if they are scared to show their face. They are comfortable throwing a PowerPoint on the screen and let PowerPoint do all the communication. But that is not how communication works. For effective communication, it is important to be seen and be heard. But it is not as easy as it seems. Let's look at some of these technical aspects of effective online communication. In order to be seen and be heard, the first place to start is the camera. Most laptops these days are equipped with decent cameras. If you have one of these newer laptops, that may be all that is needed. In case you have one of the older laptops or if you are using a PC, you have to invest in a decent webcam, such as the popular Logitech CE920. If you have the budget, you can even consider investing in a decent mirrorless camera to give you that extra edge. The new mirrorless cameras come with built-in support for webcams. If you want the highest quality possible, you can consider connecting the camera using a HDMI to USB converter. Once you decide on the camera, the next focus should be on lighting. Cameras work best when there is plenty of available light. When I moved into my new office a year ago, the first thing I did was ask the facilities team to change the position of my desk so that my face is lit from the sunlight streaming through the window. If there is a strong light behind you, for example, if your back is facing the window, then your face will appear dark as the camera tries to adjust the exposure to the available light. This is not good. If you are unable to control the natural light, a simple solution is to place a light source in front of your desk. Easy panels work best since they can output softer and flattering light and do not take up space. Next is the position of your camera. Too often we do not pay enough attention where the camera is placed, which can result in a very unflattering and distracting look. A simple rule of thumb is to place the camera at the same level as your eyes. Perhaps a little above eye level. If you are great at taking selfies, then you know what I am talking about. When you work from home, you are always conscious of using your camera. What is in the background? Are your children running around? Or are your cats fighting? Most of the meeting tools these days fortunately allow you to replace the background either with a blur effect. A blurred background works best when you want the audience to focus on you. The effect relies on the computer identifying your face and replacing the rest of the background with a blur effect. This works best if you have a powerful laptop and good light. You should also pay attention to the clothing. If the color of your dress is the same as the background, the computer will struggle to blur the background correctly. In a similar vein, you can replace the background with an image of your choice. This uses the same technique as blurring. You also need a decent laptop and good light. Virtual backgrounds are a great idea to showcase your company logo, mission, etc. To get the most out of a virtual background, you can consider investing in a green screen. These are relatively cheap. A green screen can convert your small office into a professional looking office with custom background. It gives you a peace of mind to work from home and communicate with your team in confidence without worrying about distractions around the house. As online communication evolved during the pandemic, both Zoom and Microsoft Teams have understood the importance of the speaker while delivering any message. In order to combine a presentation and the camera in the same virtual space, Zoom introduced a new feature called PowerPoint as virtual background. This gives great results as long as you format the PowerPoint to consider the camera within the same frame. The limitation is that it only works for PowerPoint presentations. Using this feature, the speaker can engage the audience while displaying other content on the same screen. Similarly, Microsoft Teams introduced the standout mode. This works similar to Zoom, but it can work for PowerPoint or any window. Microsoft Teams provides different standout modes depending on how you want to present the content. We have the standout mode, which is similar to the Zoom feature. There is also the side by side standout mode. And finally, there is a cool mode called reporter standout mode. You can try the one that works best for you. Microsoft Teams has another online trick up its sleeve when presenting PowerPoint. It's called PowerPoint Live. Though it does not include the camera within the presentation like the standout mode, it does allow you to engage with the audience using interactive tools. Secondly, it gives you a full view of your PowerPoint that makes it easy to navigate to the right slide. Finally, if you really want to take your online presence to a professional level, you can use tools such as OBS Studio, a completely free software to create virtual scenes. It does require a steep learning curve, but the results are definitely worth it. I have discussed in detail how to be seen. In order to effectively convey your message, it is equally important to be heard. In fact, your online audience will forgive you for bad video quality. But if your audio is not clear, they will tune out. Audio is such an important aspect of online communication, you should invest in the best microphone that you can afford. Ideally, you should request your company to provide you with good audio gear as it is an integral part of your work-from-home role. The simple rule of thumb for a microphone is that it should be as close to your mouth as possible. Unless you have a modern laptop that is equipped with noise-canceling microphones, avoid using the laptop microphones as these microphones tend to pick up too much room noise. You will end up sounding something like this and trust me, this is not a good sound to listen to. A good headset is ideal for online communications. However, these days we are spoiled for choices when it comes to microphones. Get a microphone that makes you sound good. Finally, invest in a good internet connection, especially if you are connecting to your corporate network through a VPN. Now you are all set to work from home. Now that you have understood the technical setup, the question you may ask is, how does Toastmasters help you in mastering these online communication skills? The answer can be broken into two core parts. First is practice. You don't get many opportunities at work to practice the message that you wish to deliver. Without practice, your message may not be conveyed properly. In Toastmasters, you get opportunities to practice both the technical skills of online meetings as well as effective online communications. Most clubs meet at least two times in a month. Every meeting is an opportunity to deliver a speech in front of a supportive audience. Number two is feedback. We improve by understanding what we can do better. In Toastmasters, your club members give you positive feedback every time you deliver a project. You can incorporate this feedback into your next presentation. You will learn the best ways to communicate online, how to present effectively and finally to feel comfortable with the technology. The Toastmasters education program called Pathways also covers many projects that help you to hone your online skills. For example, how to conduct an online meeting, creating podcasts, speaking to an unfamiliar audience and so on. Go to the Toastmasters website, click on find a club and give them a call. A Toastmaster membership is the best investment for your career.