This Is What You Should Wear for a Video Conference

• 00:04 Clothing, what should you wear for a video conference?
• 00:08 The rule of thumb with clothing is, you simply do not want to confuse or
• 00:12 distract your audience.
• 00:15 If you are in the high tech industry and all of a sudden you're wearing a suit and
• 00:19 tie, that could be distracting, because typically people don't wear suits and
• 00:24 ties in real life meetings.
• 00:26 Know what people expect from someone in your shoes.
• 00:32 Try to avoid anything that's too revealing, or
• 00:35 that's going to distract people.
• 00:37 Too much skin can be distracting, male or female.
• 00:42 Keep in mind, how is it going to look to the other person?
• 00:45 Are they going to be confused at all?
• 00:49 If you are an attorney and you specialize in giving
• 00:54 people tax advice and advice on their estates,
• 00:58 to just have a T shirt that says party hearty is going to confuse people.
• 01:05 Wear whatever you want on your off time, but realize that if this is a business
• 01:10 meeting, really the same rules apply, at least from the waist up.
• 01:15 Now you can wear whatever you want below.
• 01:18 I typically wear ugly blue croc shoes when I'm doing video conferences.
• 01:25 Doesn't matter, but what people can see, they need to see something
• 01:30 that allows them to focus on what you're saying and not be distracted.
• 01:36 There are a couple of other differences.
• 01:39 Black in real life can have a slimming effect, but on video,
• 01:43 it can blur together your arms, your torso, you might have a black chair,
• 01:48 it can actually make you look heavier on video.
• 01:51 It's not the end of the world if you wear a black shirt, jacket, dress.
• 01:57 But all things being equal, I would avoid black.
• 01:59 This actually has a lot of white in it, and has more of a gray,
• 02:03 although it may look black to you.
• 02:07 Bright white can be too intense.
• 02:10 It can darken your face.
• 02:11 I wouldn't wear a pure white shirt.
• 02:14 Again, not the end of the world if you do, but try to avoid white.
• 02:19 Anything with complex patterns can get fuzzy, and jump around, and can distract.
• 02:27 So if it's just a daily quick staff meeting with your same three colleagues,
• 02:31 don't bother changing into something special.
• 02:34 But if it's an important video conference, client's,
• 02:38 your most important customer, you're pitching a new deal.
• 02:42 In that case, try to do everything you can to minimize distractions.
• 02:47 Bright red can be too intense and can kind of bleed across the screen too.
• 02:52 So the rule of thumb is, wear solids, and avoid white,
• 02:58 avoid red, and avoid complex patterns.
• 03:03 If you do that, you will increase the odds that people can focus on what
• 03:08 you're saying and not be distracted by what you are wearing.

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