Background blur is a common technique used by photographers for years as a way to keep the focus on their most important subject. The idea is to focus on the element in the foreground, by removing the hard lines and distracting detail in the background, to truly make the element pop. You can use the same effect to keep the focus on you during that important online meeting.
With more and more people working remotely, whether it’s from a crowded coffee shop or at home with pets and kids, it’s never been more important to concentrate on the vital task at hand during conference calls and meetings. Even when you’re not working at home, distractions at the office can be a problem.
A recent study found that during the average 38-minute conference call, a full thirteen of those minutes are wasted dealing with distractions and interruptions. The same can apply to everything from online interviews, presentations, and employee training sessions, to brainstorming, sales pitches, IT assistance, customer support and webinars. So, the ability to use background blur or one of the many virtual background options, from custom to pre-made—goes a long way in cutting down on disruptions as the world tries to become more focused when working from home.
But does your meeting software have these options? If it does, you should be able to activate background blur or an image in just a few steps:
- Generally, you should find the option under your audio and video settings as you start or join a meeting
- Click on settings
- Check under options
- Look for an option to blur your background or choose an image and click on it
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