I've been working from home for nearly 20 years - here are the best products I've used

Photo by Mikey Harris on Unsplash

Now into my 20th year of working primarily from home, it's time to share some of the most effective tools I've found to get the work done. Most of my time is spent at a dedicated workstation in a spare bedroom of my house, but often I need to be "remote" from my home office so portability and flexibility is needed. Read on for more!

Top Three Tips for a Better Video Conference

Here are my top tips for a better video conference experience in the meeting room.

Why three? Why not!

Number one - Don't talk over someone on the other end. Latency is a fact in video conferences and if you tend to talk over someone in normal conversation it becomes worse over video. Take a breath. Wait your turn.

Number two - Don't mumble! Audio in a video conference can range from poor to fantastic so make sure you speak clearly, especially in the cases where language can be a barrier. Also, be respectful of cultural differences. A funny joke in the USA could be incredibly offensive elsewhere.

Number three - Test your equipment in advance. Get meetings off to a faster start by knowing if your speakers, microphone and camera are on and ready to go.

Additional tip - If you're in a video call with someone on the other side of the world, be respectful of their time zone. It may be morning where you are, but it sounds a little silly when you say "good morning" to someone when they are about to wrap their afternoon at work.


What are your favorite tips?

What to tell my past self

I was asked to write about what advice I would give to myself when I started my business. Since I started my company in 2004, I've had many years to look back, think about where I've been and how my experiences could help someone just starting out.

What is the best video conferencing solution out there?

Over the years this question has been posed to me from individuals, small business owners and tech leaders at large corporations. The answer almost always starts with "It depends.". There is no single answer for everyone, regardless of what any vendor will tell you.

The question you need to ask yourself first is: How will I use video conferencing? If you're a grandmother wanting to see the grandchildren from across the country, your needs are completely different than a Fortune 100 enterprise that has 1,000 conference room spread out across the globe. Yet there are some companies out there trying to cover that expanse with their product's marketing language.

The best video conference solution is the one that works for you and fits your budget. I encourage everyone to research your options and test everything you can find. If not, you may find out too late that Facetime was all you needed after someone sold you thousands of dollars worth of equipment that will end up gathering dust in a closet.

It's worth noting that an independent, unbiased consultant may help you get started down the right path. They should help you cut through the hype, understand your needs and budget and be able to suggest the best video conference product or service to suit you.

Bryan
Follow me on Twitter @bryanhellard

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Is video conferencing only for businesses?

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