88 – Essential Tips for Effective Online Communication with Alfred Poor

Most leaders don’t realise how much influence they lose the second they switch on a webcam.

In the boardroom, they’re confident, intentional, switched on.
Online?
They look like they’ve joined witness protection.

Giant forehead. Echoey audio. Distracting background clutter. Eyes staring at the screen instead of the people.

Trust slips. Engagement dies. Authority evaporates.

And because remote meetings now are the boardroom, this problem is no longer cosmetic. It’s existential.

So I brought in someone who lives and breathes this work.
This week on Impactful Teamwork, I was joined by Alfred Poor – keynote speaker, technology expert, and virtual-presentation specialist. His mission? Helping founders and leaders show up online with influence, clarity, and credibility.

This conversation was one of the most practical we’ve ever had.
Below is a full breakdown plus action steps you can implement today.

The 75% Reality Check

Gartner predicts that 75% of all business meetings in the US will be online. For many of us, it’s already higher.

Video calls are no longer the convenient option.
They are the core arena where leadership happens.

Hiring, firing, pitching, influencing, decision-making, problem-solving, performance reviews, investor conversations…
All increasingly happening through a lens.

As Alfred says:

“Video meetings are the new telephone… and also the new boardroom.”

If you are not intentional about how you show up, you’re choosing to undermine your own impact.

The Pandemic Broke Our Standards

Before COVID, only a handful of leaders used video regularly. After COVID, everyone was suddenly on screen with no training, no intention, no thought.

People slapped open laptops on kitchen counters.
Harsh lighting. Terrible angles. Distracting backgrounds.
Everything rushed. Nothing considered.

That “make do” mentality never reset.

But influence doesn’t happen by accident. It happens by design.

Alfred’s work boils virtual leadership down to three non-negotiables:

1. Be seen

2. Be heard

3. Minimise distractions

That’s it.
Simple. Powerful. Game-changing.

Let’s break them down.

1. Be Seen – Your Presence Matters

Online presence isn’t vanity. It’s leadership.

If people can’t clearly see your face, your eyes, your gestures, or your emotional cues, you lose authority. You lose connection. You lose trust.

Here’s what Alfred hammered home.

Fix your lighting

Most leaders have awful lighting because they rely on whatever room they happen to be in.

The fix is simple:

Use two lamps with plain white shades
Choose daylight bulbs (slightly blue, more flattering)
Avoid yellowish light
Move ring lights off-centre so you don’t flatten your face
If you wear glasses, beware of those bright white donuts of reflection

Lighting doesn’t need to be expensive. It needs to be considerate.

Fix your framing

No more giant head. No more “up the nose” horror angle.

Raise your camera to eye level
Move it further back so your torso is visible
Aim for the framing you’d see on BBC or Sky News
Keep your gestures in your natural “power zone” (centre of your chest)

This instantly makes you appear more grounded, engaging, and trustworthy.

Fix your eye contact

Looking at people’s faces on screen feels like eye contact.
It isn’t.

Eye contact online = looking at the camera.

Alfred’s 50p hack:
Stick a pair of googly eyes next to the lens and talk to them.

Ridiculous. Effective. Transformative.

2. Be Heard – Your Voice Carries Your Leadership

Audio is the most underestimated part of virtual presence.

If your sound is muffled, echoey, or inconsistent, people stop listening. They drift. Their brain has to work harder, and that means they switch off.

Avoid your laptop mic

It picks up:

Room echo
Background noise
Harshness
Every tap on your keyboard

Better options

USB mic (like the Blue Yeti in cardioid mode)
Lavalier mic clipped to your clothing
Headset if needed, especially in noisy environments

Tame the room

Hard surfaces create echo.
You don’t need a studio. You need softening:

Curtains
Cushions
Rugs
Even a blanket thrown over a table

If you wouldn’t hold a leadership meeting in a tiled bathroom, don’t sound like you’re sitting in one.

3. Minimise Distractions – Your Background Is Part of Your Brand

This is where leaders lose trust without realising it.

Stop using virtual backgrounds

Yes, I’m saying it.
Yes, Alfred said it too.

Your hair disappears.
Your hands glitch.
Your chair vanishes.
You look like a hologram.

It’s distracting, disorienting, and quietly damaging to your credibility.

If you haven’t thought about your background, people will wonder what else you haven’t thought about.

Better options

Tidy real background
Plain wall
Photographic backdrop hung on a clothes rail
A simple brand element like your logo or a company colour

And for the love of trust-building, remove anything:

Messy
Personal
Political
Strange
Half-drunk

Your background speaks before you do.

A Big Mistake: Hiding Behind Slides

For years, screen sharing has meant:

Slide covers the screen.
Your face becomes a tiny postage stamp.

On a real stage, leaders never hide behind the screen.
They stand in front of it.

Alfred showed a brilliant alternative:
Use tools that allow your face and slide together.

You remain present.
Your authority stays intact.
Your message lands.

Even without fancy tools, you can:

Speak to camera first
Share the slide briefly
Return to camera to anchor the message

Your presence is the presentation.

The Leadership Truth Underneath It All

This episode wasn’t really about cameras, lights, or microphones.

It was about leadership.

How you show up online reveals your:

Intentionality
Credibility
Attention to detail
Professionalism
Authority
Trustworthiness

If your team sees chaos behind you, they unconsciously question how you lead.
If your audio is unclear, they question your clarity.
If your lighting is off, they question your presence.
If you stare down at the screen, they question your confidence.

Your virtual environment is a leadership signal.

Make it a powerful one.

Action Steps You Can Implement Today

1. Record yourself on Zoom or Teams

Watch yourself back with brutal honesty.
Notice your lighting, framing, sound, background, and eye contact.

2. Improve one thing this week

Raise your camera
Add better lighting
Clean your background
Fix your audio

Leadership is built in micro-shifts.

3. Create a team virtual-presence standard

Your organisation needs shared agreements on:

What “professional” looks like
How backgrounds should appear
Audio expectations
How slides are presented

This enhances trust, clarity, and collective influence.

Final Word

Virtual leadership is not about turning yourself into a YouTuber.
It’s about bringing your real, grounded authority into the medium where leadership now lives.

After this episode with Alfred Poor, one thing is clear:

Remote influence is no longer optional. It’s a core leadership skill.

And when you master how you show up online, your team listens more deeply, your clients trust you more quickly, and your message travels further with less effort.

Listen to the full episode for the deeper insights.
Your virtual presence is part of your leadership legacy.
Start refining it today.