You too can be a Garage Sale Guru! Tips for Garage Sale Success

 

Your basement is filled with treasures. Well, you call them treasures. Your family calls them junk. 

There are so many things taking up so much space there is no clear path to – well – anywhere!

The die is cast. A date is chosen and the process of organizing your garage sale begins. 

Click For Full Post - Tips, Ideas, Background

Find answers to these 5 key questions.

1. What is the secret for a successful Garage Sale?
2. How do I decide what to sell? 
3. Do I really need to price each important?
4. How important are signs?

Beware! The Ultimate Canadian Donut Rush

Canadians are very Canadian when it comes to loving donuts!

On a recent world donut day, I was listening to the Calgary CBC Eye Opener as hosts David Gray and Angela Knight helped us celebrate.

Listeners were texting and emailing their favorite sweet treat. As the volume increased the tone of the messages became harsher and there was a real danger the conversation might spiral out of control and into a full-on viral donut war! For the record, mine is an apple fritter.

The idea of a revolution caused by donuts would be hard to imagine in any part of the world but Canada. We love our donuts!

Position Your Body on Video Calls and Look like a Pro

How you position yourself on video calls directly affects engagement. 

Written by Robyn T. Braley

How you look on screen is determined by lighting, camera position, and what you wear. Conference speakers and tutorial presenters may even require light facial makeup in some situations (Note shiny bald spots). But, it's how you position yourself that makes the greatest impact. 

We have now spent 18 months locked in a virtual world. While COVID protocols may soon be further relaxed, video calls will be with us forever! That means we must constantly strive to look and sound better in the virtual world. 

Why? Let me repeat. First impressions are everything in Virtual Land.

In my last post about lighting, I stated the obvious. People who see you on a zoom call consciously or unconsciously compare you to TV Anchors.

That’s not a bad thing. Television professionals spend many hours refining every element of their look and performance so that viewers will only think about what they are saying. 

Side screen, off-screen, floating heads, and nose hairs don't cut it. 

Onscreen body positioning involves trial and error to find what is right for you in your space. In my previous 2 posts, I talked about lighting and sound. But, getting those elements right doesn't matter if you're too close or too far away from your webcam.

Body positioning is the secret sauce that will make you look like a pro. In the virtual world, perception is reality!

Video Call Lighting - 12 Tips to Make You Look Better

Tips to help you improve the way you look on video calls!

Lighting options, light positioning, light influencers 

Written by Robyn T. Braley

First impressions are everything! The quality of your video call lighting will determine how people see you.

People form an instant opinion about you based on how you look online! If your image is too dark or too bright, that makes a statement. Ultimately, lighting influences how others receive the messages and ideas you try to communicate.

Before getting stressed about lighting though, relax. Solutions may be simpler than you think.

My tips will improve the quality of your video calls. All you need is an open mind and the patience to try different options. 

Some lighting tips cost nothing. Others cost less than $100. 

In This Post

• Natural Lighting
• Available Lighting
• Home-made Lighting
• Professional Lighting
• Light Diffusers
• What to Wear

Seven Easy Steps to Improve Your Voice Quality on Video Calls

Written by Robyn T. Braley

The New Reality

Video conferencing has become a matter of necessity due to the COVI9-19 experience. As it became commonplace, we began to better understand the communication needs of the virtual space. 

Whether you speak to an audience of 1 or 100, your sound quality makes a statement about you. If people can't understand you, they can't engage with your ideas and opinions.  

Audiences will make allowances for poor visuals but will not tolerate shoddy audio. My purpose in this post is to help you improve the sound of your voice on video calls.