Tips for looking and sounding competent and professional from home I get it! You’re not going to go all out for each of the 5,342 Zoom meetings you’re invited to each week during quarantine. If you’re meeting with a bunch of colleagues for a regular check in, then fine! Throw on some sweats and try to hide the fact that you’re simultaneously watching Netflix —but there are certain meetings (like IEP meetings) where messy hair and an oversized sweater is just not going to cut it.
If you are one of the leaders or key participants in a virtual meeting, it is important that you look and sound professional and confident from home! Here are some tips for making that happen! DRESS UP ON TOP It sounds simple, but based on the number of individuals who flat-out ignore this step, I felt it was well worth mentioning. It’s not hard at all to instantly communicate your effectiveness as a leader simply by decorating the upper half of your body. Do something with your hair. Wash your face. Put on a nice top. And then: BOOM! We have a great foundation to build on! PLAN APPROPRIATELY ON THE BOTTOM For most meetings, you don’t even have to dress your bottom half! You could literally wear nothing down there and no one would know! HOWEVER, make sure to plan ahead. If you’ll do any standing, shifting, reaching, etc., you should plan accordingly. The last thing you want to do is flash your stuff to a virtual room full of professionals, colleagues, and families. EYE LEVEL CAMERA ANGLE Setting your lap top directly on the table will result in an upward camera angle that makes you look older, heavier, less professional, and, whether it’s true or not, it really can create the perception that you may be incompetent. Instead of setting your computer directly on a table top, set in on a stack of books or some sort of risen platform to create an eye level angle that screams “I know what I’m doing!”, and “I’ve effortlessly adapted to stay-at-home orders because I’m a G!” GOOD LIGHTING Of course not everyone is going to invest in professional lighting for at-home video meetings, BUT that does NOT mean that you can’t find good lighting in your home! You can sit facing a big window, or set a lamp behind your computer. Whatever you decide to do, make sure that the light is coming directly at your face for a clean, professional look. If light is coming from behind you, you will become a dark shadow on camera. Light coming from above can cause you to look old and saggy! I know…terrifying, right? So take the extra steps to find good lighting! GOOD SOUND Sound is as important, or maybe even more important than lighting! If you’re in a noisy room, if your voice isn’t loud enough, or if the sound is cutting in and out, no one will take you seriously. I know I wouldn’t! Make sure your are in a quiet space. If you are relying on your computer’s microphone, make sure that you sit closer to the computer in order to be closer to the mic. You may also want to invest in headphones with a good quality built-in microphone! These could help improve your sound quality, PLUS you can also use them for hands-free phone calls and listening to your favorite music or videos! CHOOSE A SIMPLE BACKGROUND Another simple tip to elevate your look is to make sure that your background is simple, clean, and easy on the eyes. If there are piles of clutter and animals moving around in your video frame, this will take away from your overall message and it will make you seem unprepared and disheveled. SIT UP STRAIGHT In the short time we have been working from home, I have seen people in video meetings lounging on couches, lying on floors, and even resting their heads on large dogs. Doing things like this can definitely make people think differently of you and they might even lose some respect for you. Posture is a great way to show that you take your job seriously. You have the rest of the day to slouch around, so make sure that you demonstrate your leadership through your body language while leading virtual meetings! TALK TO THE CAMERA While it may feel unnatural, this tip is especially important if you are “presenting” information during a meeting. Our natural instinct is to look at the faces on the screen during a video chat, but looking directly at the camera lens will make your presentation more personal, giving participants the feeling that you are addressing them directly. TEST THE TECHNOLOGY BEFOREHAND What is worse than suddenly having to learn to use a brand new online platform? I’ll tell you what’s worse! Learning to use that platform live in front of your colleagues, staff, and whoever else joins the meeting! If it’s your fist time hosting a virtual meeting on a specific platform, play with the technology a few days beforehand. Even if you’ve been a participant on the platform, hosting the meeting can be very different. No one wants to sit around while you scramble to get your life together! GOOD LUCK!! I hope that you stay safe and healthy during this crazy time!
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MAKE IT EASY FOR FAMIILES
At this point in the game, it is obvious that parents/guardians are not ready or willing to become full-time teachers! And who could blame them?! These feelings that they have seem to become worse with every additional demand that is placed on them. It seems to me that the best option is to provide families with meaningful work that they can facilitate without seeking additional training. Provide them with simple, easy-to-follow instructions to help them RE-TEACH (not teach) the concepts that you have already been working on in class. If you need ideas, you can check out my FREE Ability Academy Online program guided video lessons and assignments for “Moderate to Severe” Special Education. ASSIGN INDEPENDENT WORK In Special Education, we are limited in this area, and many teachers will struggle to find ANY work that students are able to complete independently. So the idea here is to STRIVE for an “as independent as possible” level. Because, again, parents are not trained to understand teaching methods or prompting hierarchies. Even if a few super dedicated families are willing to learn more, a majority of families are already overwhelmed by the pandemic. While you may not be able to send work that students can do all by themselves, try to send work that requires the least amount of involvement from parents / family members. STAY ORGANIZED As teachers, it can be extremely stressful to feel like information is constantly flying at you and you have no time to sit down and figure it all out! The solution to this is to make the time —even if it’s easier to make excuses or to fall into the “sleep less, weigh more” quarantine mentality. Schedule and routine is just as important for us as it is for the students! One of the perks of working from home is that the hoard of students constantly surrounding you, leaving barely any room to breathe is no longer standing between you and your to-do list. If you can muster up the self-discipline and determination to get yourself on a schedule, you can use some of the "me" time to plan your lessons, assignments, IEP meetings, and district-required paperwork in advance! This way, you won’t be thrown off by the 5,000,000 daily emails, or the never-ending zoom meetings! LIVE IN A GUILT-FREE ZONE No one was ready for this. Most of us have never even thought about online teaching. So don’t allow yourself to feel guilty if you aren’t as phenomenal as you’d like to be at the moment. This pandemic will pass. And if it doesn’t, then you’ll adjust. But knowing this doesn't automatically make it easier. Maybe you had big, high-tech ideas that didn’t quite work out! Maybe you feel isolated and unsupported because your district has ignored Special Education entirely (not uncommon). Maybe other teachers at your school are thriving while you are struggling! There are so many situations that could play a role in your overall mood and outlook. But most of these circumstances will exist outside of your control. So let it go. Keep your head in the game, do what you can, don’t do what you can’t, and take care of yourself. If you’re doing these things, then you should feel great about your work! The only thing you’re guilty of is being sexy! |
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May 2020
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