Video Chat Guide

Video chats are a great way to connect Peace Corps Volunteers in the field, Returned Volunteers, and host community members with American audiences. Depending on available internet connectivity, you could explore free video conferencing platforms that allow users to connect with one another from various locations.

Theme ideas for video chats

• Volunteers at work: teaching in a classroom, working with their counterpart, or working with a club.
• Volunteers and host families: discuss and show eating a meal, preparing food, living in a house, or the roles of family members.
• Celebrations: Volunteers singing songs and performing dances with students or others; holidays and celebrations such as birthdays or weddings.
• Classroom-to-classroom exchanges: Ask students in your host country to present to students in the U.S. on topics such as holidays, life in their towns, chores they perform, their favorite foods, or activities they like to do in their free time.

Planning your video chat

• Determine a date and time for your chat, bearing in mind time zone differences.
  • If you and your participants live in very different time zones, consider using a free online app that allows you to exchange video messages that can be viewed at any time.
• Identify your participants
  • Will you reach out to members of your host community (current or former) and ask them to join in a presentation?
  • Will you connect one classroom with another classroom?
  • Will you need to be a moderator to keep the conversation moving forward?
• Choose a platform, considering:
  • How many participants or screens can the platform accommodate?
  • Can all participants use the chosen platform? Is it blocked in certain locations? Does it use too much bandwidth?
  • Do you want to record or livestream your chat? Or do you need it to be private?
  • Do you want to use a chat feature for participants to submit questions?
  • Do you want participants to view or use video? Both?
• Choose a topic or theme for your video chat.
• Test your connectivity and audio/video capabilities and those of the Volunteers or community members in the field.
• Determine a back-up plan if technology fails on the day of the event, such as a phone call.
• Send viewers relevant links or lesson plans prior to the chat.

Prior to the event

• Consider collecting questions from the audience ahead of time to keep the conversation moving.
• Prepare a few kick-off questions to get the group comfortable with submitting their inquiries.
• Gather participant bios so you know their backgrounds and can introduce speakers, if needed.
• Do a test video chat at least one day prior to the scheduled event in order to work out all the kinks. Use this as an opportunity to discuss the event’s agenda as well as answer any questions your participants may have.
• All participants should meet at least 15 minutes before the event start time to iron out unforeseen issues.
• Determine whether the moderator will introduce participants, either by giving names and brief bios or via self-introduction.
• Give the audience a chance to prepare by providing countries of service and other information.

Create a video chat event space

• Find a quiet space that is free from distracting noises. Use headphones if it is helpful in eliminating extra background sounds and echoes that may occur during the video chat.
• While quiet, the space should still be visually interesting and have good lighting.
• Consider your backdrops—make sure they are not distracting but do reflect the topic of conversation.
• Position the camera a few feet away from your face and leave roughly one third of the screen empty to provide a frame. Only your head and shoulders should be visible unless you are joining with more than one moderator.

During the event

• Ensure only the video chat platform is open on the computer so that other programs and pop-up alerts will not ping during the chat.
• Have a moderator or off-screen helper collect questions from participants and keep time.
• If you have multiple students, community members, and/or Volunteers participating in the chat, one person at a time should ask and answer questions.
• Guide participants to ask questions specific to Peace Corps service rather than general information accessible on the internet.
• Ask questions of group participants to encourage an exchange of dialogue.