Hosting a call? Send your guests the check first
You can't fix your guests' setup for them, but you can send them here before the call. It takes about two minutes and works in any browser.
Why it's worth asking
Poor sound makes your guests come across worse than they are. In a 2025 study of about 4,800 listeners, speakers whose audio sounded "tinny", like a cheap laptop microphone, were judged less intelligent, less hireable and less credible, even though every word was understood. Read the research.
In a job interview, that's a judgement about the candidate that has nothing to do with them. On a podcast, and on the video version many shows now post, your audience hears and sees it for the whole episode. Recording platforms capture each guest's microphone at full quality, but that doesn't help if it's the wrong microphone.
In therapy or a telehealth appointment, you're reading someone's face and voice. A muffled microphone or a dim, low camera makes that harder, and it's awkward to stop a session to ask a client to change their mic or move their camera.
The usual causes are easy to fix once someone knows about them: a wireless headset used as a microphone, laptop speakers echoing into the mic, or a bright window behind them. Guests rarely notice, because they can't hear or see themselves the way you do.
Something to paste into your invite
Any call
Before our call, could you take two minutes to check your camera and microphone at https://checkyoursetup.com?
A job interview
Before our interview, could you take two minutes to check your camera and microphone at https://checkyoursetup.com? Sound and picture quality affect how anyone comes across on video, so it's worth two minutes.
A podcast guest
Before we record, could you run the two-minute check at https://checkyoursetup.com? It checks how you sound and how you look on camera, and catches common problems like a wireless headset microphone or a bright window behind you. Wired earphones are ideal if you have them.
A therapy or telehealth appointment
Before your video appointment, please take two minutes to check your camera and microphone at https://checkyoursetup.com. It helps me see and hear you clearly during our session.
A client or patient appointment
Before your appointment, please take two minutes to check your camera and microphone at https://checkyoursetup.com. At the end it gives you a checklist you can print.
A family call
Before our call, could you try https://checkyoursetup.com? It takes two minutes and helps us see and hear you better.
What your guests will do
They pick the microphone, speakers and camera they use for calls, record a short clip and play it back, and run a 20-second echo test. Then they compare themselves with a few common video problems. At the end they get a checklist of fixes for the app they use, which they can print. Their video and sound are never sent anywhere.
Noticed something on a colleague's calls instead? Send them a kind heads-up.