Do you have a nice video background?

You are likely to have constant Teams or Zoom video calls with clients or work colleagues. One of the first things you should think about should be how to have a nice background.

Home offices

For home offices, follow "less is more" - A neutral background, good lighting, and a clutter-free space can significantly enhance the quality of your video.

Have a neutral wall or setup behind you or with minimal objects - you may be fond of family pictures or band posters, but the person on the other side may be distracted
Check you don't have a pile of clothes to fold, boxes, or any mess that may be behind your desk
Good lighting can improve the general quality of your video
If you want to go the extra mile, designate one wall as your company wall and keep it consistent with the company branding

Test your background - Start by sitting at your desk and taking a selfie to check your background. Use this as a guide to tidy and organize your space for a more professional appearance.

bad background — Figure: Bad example – A messy background and bad lighting do not look professional

good background — Figure: OK example – Clean home background with a branded monitor showing off the company website (unnecessarily hard to set up)

good background seth — Figure: Good example – Clean and simple home background with clear and good lighting

On-site offices

When you're in the office, it's easy to have a professionally branded background, which remains the most effective option.

good office background — Figure: Good example – Office background with nice lighting ☀️

Virtual backgrounds

Not ideal, but if you can't have a nice and clean background, the alternative is to use the virtual background effect feature (e.g. blur OR a background image):

Teams - Custom backgrounds in Microsoft Teams make video meetings more fun, comfortable, and personal
Zoom - Virtual background feature allows you to display an image or video as your background during a Zoom meeting