Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter
It's also really easy to have high quality audio! The author recommends a "podcasting" microphone, but a $35 standalone headset mic[1] is almost as good and much easier to use. If you want to hear a comparison, I got kind of obsessed with this problem at one point and took some comparison recordings here[2].<p>(You need a standalone mic since most headsets, even really nice ones, have really bad mics because most headset buyers don't care about or even know how good their mic sounds. The one I linked is wired because wireless is evil[3] and in particular, Bluetooth will silently degrade your audio quality. If you want a pair of wired headphones, I like these[4] which are "open back" and therefore sound more natural + cool your ears better, although the open back also means they "leak" sound and are only suitable for working without people next to you. But you shouldn't be having calls with people next to you anyway!)<p>[1]: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/V-MODA-BoomPro-Microphone-Gaming-Communication/dp/B00BJ17WKK" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/V-MODA-BoomPro-Microphone-Gaming-Comm...</a><p>[2]: <a href="https://www.benkuhn.net/vc/#get-a-better-microphone" rel="nofollow">https://www.benkuhn.net/vc/#get-a-better-microphone</a><p>[3]: <a href="https://www.benkuhn.net/wireless/" rel="nofollow">https://www.benkuhn.net/wireless/</a><p>[4]: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Philips-SHP9500S-Precision-Over-ear-Headphones/dp/B00ENMK1DW/" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/Philips-SHP9500S-Precision-Over-ear-H...</a>