Imagine suddenly being called to be on a remote home broadcast interview. It may be to be for the news or to share important information. Perhaps it’s to be as a remote speaker for a digital event. Regardless of the reason, are you ready to appear on camera at home? There’s only so much notice and now you need to prepare what you can.

High-quality remote interviews go a long way to build awareness and build your reputation as an authority in your field. How your interview is set up and conducted is critical to its success.

Here are the main factors you should immediately factor when about to conduct a remote interview at home. This is useable information even for standard video calls, which have seen a surge in popularity in recent times.

First, you need the physical items to conduct your interview. Most of these items can be considered “optional” based on existing computers, which of course is mandatory.

If you are using a laptop, it may have an existing camera. Even if your computer has a built-in camera, you still want to consider purchasing an additional USB webcam for the higher quality.

Here are some of the highest-rated webcams as of 2020:

1. Microsoft LifeCam Cinema Camera

2. Microsoft Corporation LifeCam Studio Web Camera

3. Logitech C920 HD Pro Webcam

4. Logitech C925e HD Audio Webcam

5. Logitech Brio 4K Ultra HD Webcam

That said, webcams are experiencing a bit of a short-stock at the moment, likely due to the huge demand with more video calls being made. If you see any of these come back in stock definitely consider getting one for your at-home video production quality.

Similarly to your webcam, relying solely on your laptop’s in-built microphone can be disadvantageous. Especially if broadcasting from an older laptop, your microphone may be uncomfortably close to your laptop’s fan, which may blanket your voice. Having poor audio is very inconvenient in any form of video chat. To mitigate this, be sure to consider a high quality microphone. If you’re in the market for a highly rated mic, consider any of the following.

1.  Rode NT-USB

2.  Blue Yeti

3.  Audio-Technica AT2020USB

4.  CAD U37

5.  Samson Go Mic

While possibly a lower priority to the webcam and microphone, having a dedicated set of speakers certainly has its benefits. Lower quality in-built speakers can result in you having difficulty hearing the other person. Additionally, speakers with an output “lag” is what causes the dreaded “voice echo” when it reaches your microphone. On the other hand, having proper speakers allows you to avoid potentially having to wear unappealing earphones while on your broadcast. Here are some of the notable speakers coming out of 2020.

Apart from the physical hardware, of course, you need the proper software to establish the video call. This will depend on what is being requested, but in general, you’ll commonly see any of the following:

Ensure you know which program or app you need to have downloaded and installed, and make sure that you’ve had an opportunity to test the app before the official call. Many of these programs require a bit of setup to connect with the appropriate audio and video hardware, and you want to know that you’re looking proper in terms of webcam placement, posture, etc.

The speed of your internet is directly linked to the quality of your video call connection. This includes your upload and download speeds. Check your various speeds on free sites like fast.com. Attempt to have the following:

Environment matters for your home broadcast. Make sure you’re being cognizant of the elements of the room that can be seen behind you.

If you follow these steps you will be set for your remote video interview broadcast. Good luck!

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