My mentor told me my coworking space video calls were too cluttered

I was taking calls from a loud coffee shop in Chiang Mai for 6 months and thought nothing of it. A senior nomad I met at a local meetup said my background noise and messy desk made me look unprofessional. I switched to a $15/month soundproof booth at the Punspace Nimman location and started using a plain wall background. Has anyone else gotten feedback that forced you to upgrade your workspace setup?

3 comments

3 Comments

garcia.tyler6d ago

Did you consider how the actual lighting situation is affecting the call quality more than just the background noise? I found that a cheap ring light and bouncing light off a white wall made me look way more professional than even the soundproof booth did. The booth helps with noise, sure, but bad lighting makes you look like you're filming from a cave. What kind of lighting setup are you running now?

jake_torres686d ago

Yeah totally agree on the lighting thing. I had a similar issue where I was using this expensive mic but still looked like garbage on camera, so I grabbed a cheap softbox from Amazon and pointed it at a white poster board behind my monitor. Made a way bigger difference than I expected, calls actually feel less awkward now.

mark_price1d ago

That's a good point about bouncing light off a white wall. I tried something similar with a piece of foam board and a desk lamp, and it really did help soften things up. Funny how something so simple makes such a difference.