How to share your contact details on a video call
Put the link in the chat. It is the only method that works for everyone, survives the call recording and does not depend on anyone reading a code off a webcam. A QR code on a virtual background is a nice touch but it is mirrored in your own view and often too low-resolution for the other side to scan.
Takes: 2 minutes
The chat message, which is what actually works
- 1
Paste the link, with one line of context
A bare URL in a chat reads as a link someone dropped. One short line, such as your name and what the link is, makes it worth clicking and makes it findable when they scroll back.
- 2
Send it to everyone, not to the host
Zoom and Teams both default to the whole room, but if you have replied to someone privately the box can stay on that person. It is the commonest way a message meant for everyone reaches one person.
- 3
Repeat it near the end if the call was long
Chat scrolls. Something posted in the first five minutes of an hour-long call is effectively gone by the end, and people act on details at the end.
A QR code on your background
Worth doing, with two caveats that catch everybody. Your self-view is mirrored, so the code looks reversed to you while being correct to everyone else: do not flip it to make your own preview look right, or you will break it for the room. And video compression is unkind to fine detail, so the code needs to be large, high contrast and hold as little data as possible. Test it by having someone scan it from a real call, not from the preview screen.
The two that disappoint
Holding a printed card up to the camera almost never works: autofocus hunts, the image is compressed, and the other person is watching a thumbnail. Saying an email address out loud is slower than it feels and produces spelling errors that you only discover when the mail never arrives. If you must say it, put it in the chat at the same time.
Common questions
Does the chat survive after the call?
Sometimes. Teams keeps chat in the meeting thread; Zoom only saves it if the host has saving enabled or someone saves it manually. Assume it does not, and follow up by mail if it mattered.
Why does my QR code look backwards on screen?
Your self-view is mirrored by default so that moving right looks like moving right. Everyone else sees it the correct way round. Leave the code as it is.
Can I put my details in my display name?
You can add a role or company, and it helps people place you. A full email address does not fit, gets truncated differently in every client, and cannot be clicked.