The advantage of external equipment is that you can better control the positions of your devices. You can set a camera to the exact angle and distance you want. The added sensitivity of a good microphone allows you to stand further away from your computer so more of you is visible and you can speak more naturally without wearing the headset of a 1-800 operator.

So get good devices for yourself. If you’re a business owner, also get good equipment for your staff, who are likely facing the same kind of space and privacy stresses while working from home.

2. Control your presence. We forget everything we know about non-verbal communication when we turn the cameras on. We forget, for example, that it’s very frustrating and tiring to look at someone you can’t see very well. That means the actual light you use to illuminate yourself plays a role.

If you are standing in front of a window on a sunny day, you will have a halo you don’t deserve, and your client will see you as a very dark shape from a sci-fi movie. Conversely, if there is barely any light in the room where you are, the image will look like a night vision documentary on the nocturnal habits of birds.

The angle at which you are seen is also important. If you use the built-in camera on your laptop, your meeting partner will likely be looking up at you (from the open lid). The result is a rather unflattering look at your chin and the impression that you are looming over the person you are talking to.

Some articles recommend focusing the camera at about your hairline level, which allows you and the other person to be equal partners and also makes it easier for the two of you to maintain eye contact.

Views from the side are horrible, by the way. Please don’t do that. They cause you to look distracted, and it feels to viewers like they’re spying on you.

Also, think about your camera’s focus. If normal, it makes you appear about two feet away from your clients, which is way closer than you would normally stand when talking with them. The personal space of a person begins at about three feet. (That closeness might be contributing to the Zoom fatigue we’re all feeling.)

3. Stage your environment. If you spend most of your time in virtual client meetings, you may want to make sure that you are also in a place that presents you well.

First of all, virtual backgrounds are not good for you. The background tends to blur the edges of your face. How much it does seems to vary depending on how much you move. But in any case, the blurring will tire out the person you are talking to.

The worst background I’ve seen is a picture of the snow-covered slopes of Vail, Colo. (the Back Bowls) on a bright, sunny day. In general, anything bright with a ray of light will not work well.

The second problem with backgrounds is the way we look at people when we’re talking to them. In most conversations, we maintain eye contact, but sometimes we also welcome the distractions of their environment and look away. (Communications experts suggest that we maintain eye contact 50% of the time when speaking and 70% when listening.) When meeting people in person, it’s easy to look out the window sometimes while not appearing terribly distracted. The virtual background makes it impossible to look around at your caller’s environment for relief.