Think about what boredom looks like? How tricky it can be to talk to people who have their cameras off? Or how annoying it is when your online audience look like they’re busy attending to something else?
The body language of video calls applies to everyone in the room, not just the speaker, and this post will offer tips on what to do and avoid as a member of a online meeting. I’ll also discuss how to read the virtual room.
Sit Still
Movement draws attention. Chair-swivelling and seat-squirming give the perception of nervousness or impatience, the mover looking like they want to escape as they release excess energy. The observer of this behaviour might also unconsciously associate the movement with predation (the chair-swivelled sizing up or stalking their victim!). Appearing ‘grounded’ through restricting movement of the trunk can signal control. Sitting still and upright is also the equivalent to ‘standing one’s ground’ and suggests a conviction in the message being delivered. The person is demonstrating literally and metaphorically that they are no pushover. This rigidity should apply to the lower body and core, but not the head/face, otherwise it can look like the person's screen has frozen, or that they’ve frozen in fear.
Sit up
An erect spine makes a speaker look attentive and prepared. The speaker who’s slumped in their seat or hunched over can appear as though they are not invested or making sufficient effort. If a person looks like gravity is influencing them, it can be associated with boredom. It’s not a good sign when someone needs a hand or arm to hold up their head or body. This goes for everyone in the room. Any leaning on something or even leaning backwards into a chair suggests a lack of interest or commitment.
Shoulders down
Shoulders should be square to the camera and kept low/relaxed. When feeling anxious the shoulders tend to raise up for protection with the head lowered (turtle effect). To look confident this turtling should be avoided. Instead, the speaker should behave (if physically able) as if a piece of string is pulling their head up from its uppermost spot, extending their neck a little. Slumping or slouching from anyone in the room suggests that they are not attentive. Whilst this might not be the case, it’s not an image the person is likely to want to portray.
Hand gestures
During a video call, gestures should be used sparingly. Hands that are constantly moving can distract the receiver, and this is made worse by the jerky images that often occur on screen. Slowing down gestures and making them more deliberate can reduce the jerkiness. Smooth and controlled gesturing also achieves a more favourable impression. Slow, deliberate gestures are difficult to perform by a speaker who is talking quickly. However, they should also be slowing their normal tempo of speech to slightly slower than normal, to account for audio issues that occur online. Rather than using 'regulating' gestures, a more conscious use of gesturing can achieve a strong affect. Gestures can even be choreographed, perhaps only employing them to signal key points (or that a key point is about to be made).
It is important to ensure that hand gestures can be seen which might require hands to be raised a little higher than normal. Gestures that are too close to the camera should be avoided, to avoid looking like giant/threatening hands, which means that hands need to be kept closer to the body and not extended forwards, otherwise the hands will look huge and distract if not intimidate. The usual ‘box’ for gesturing is much smaller on a video call. It is also worth adopting an open palms gesture early on, a display that’s associated with honesty and trust.
Expressions
It’s usually good to begin with a genuine smile, helping you and your audience relax. Beyond that, expressions should match the tone, context, or content of the conversation, achieving a congruent message. A slight smile (avoiding a long/sad face) and slightly raised eyebrows show engagement and a positive mood. When listening, but still visible to others, the slight raise of eyebrows shows interest, while nodding signals agreement. Both actions display encouragement.
Frowning and staring should be consciously avoided, although, when unconsciously performed they don’t signal anger or confusion (although they could) as these are also cues for concentration and thought.
Eye contact
For most of the time spent speaking, eye contact should be maintained. Of course, this isn’t possible with a virtual audience. The impression of eye contact can only be achieved by looking at the camera lens (or very near to it). If sitting close to the camera, the speaker can get away with gazing just above/beyond the lens, with the benefit that this can avoid a slight cross-eyed look. The camera lens should be level(ish) height wise to the height of the speaker’s eyes, with the lens angled horizontally to the eyes (this applies to all the participants in the room). Unless, the person wants to look dominant, intimidating or superior, in which case they should gaze slightly downward to the camera lens.
A disadvantage of looking into the lens is that it becomes much more difficult to look at the other people in the room, which has its own advantages. By being seated further away from the lens it becomes more difficult for others to spot changes in gaze direction. A speaker can more easily glance at others or down at notes if they are further from the lens. It also easier to gesture naturally. This does require a good mic or one that can be attached to the speaker.
Using notes
Notes can be positioned really close to the camera lens without being seen by the camera/audience. It’s also possible to use a teleprompter or basic word document with a scrolling feature. With wide margins, and by keeping the text at the top of the screen, you can read without a noticeable glancing down (unless you’re too close to the lens). Using bullet points in this manner can be good to keep your speech on track whilst flowing naturally.
Positioning
The position that you appear on the screen is an important consideration. Ideally, your eyes should be two-thirds of the way up the screen, with plenty of space for the upper body (at least). This means that gestures can appear in a position that appears natural. If the speaker is too close, hand gestures with either not be seen or the hands will be so high they look like the speaker has lost control.
The Background
Most people, correctly, appear right in the middle of the screen but this depends to some extent on the background. Appearing one-third of the distance in from either side is also an aesthetically pleasing position for the audience to see you in. The best side to appear will be determined by the background which may offer a perspective that directs the audience's gaze to the speaker’s face, perhaps the shelving on a bookcase for example. Or maybe there something in the background that fits the space to the side of the speaker and sends its own nonverbal message. People will look at what's behind the faces in the room. If working from home, consider the impression you are making. Blurred options are available on most apps, as is the opportunity to insert a virtual background which will carry its own message,
Smartphones and some laptops allow for portrait views which can work well when standing, gesturing or creating content to be viewed primarily on phones.
Slowed speech
Being mindful of technology it’s advisable to speak a little slower and deeper than normal. Breathing properly can help with this. Taking in breath before speaking and remember to breathe throughout is important. Many people hold their breath unconsciously when nervous. In the short term this negatively affects the voice. In the medium term the speaker will sound anxious (or overemotional). In the long term, well, the speaker stops speaking.
Clothing, grooming and adornments
Off camera, people may wear off a range of casual clothing, or none at all, but what’s seen will but contribute to the impression made. As a general rule, dress the same way as if it were a face-to-face meeting/presenting. This goes for hats, jewellery, hair styles and general grooming and even cleanliness.
Ventral display
On a video call, the ventral region (which in the case of video conferencing may only be the upper chest) should be kept free from barriers. This also goes for the neck. Sitting up straight and having the camera at the correct level should allow for some neck visibility which also suggests confidence and openness. The openness of this display is easily undone by a fiddling of a tie or other visible ‘adaptors’. The touching the face, rubbing the back of the neck, ventilating (pulling your collar), etc. are signs of stress – the need to adapt to the situation. Whilst self-touching pacifiers such as twirling the hair or self-punishing ones (biting nails) should be avoided, nervous tension can be released in hidden ways, such as bouncing the feet.
Although the audience might not be able to see your closed body language (arms, legs, ankles crossed), this may still have a negative impact on the speaker. It’s also the case that anyone in the virtual room that adopts a closed posture may be less open to receiving the message they are receiving.
Lighting
Natural light is better (you can get bulbs which give a natural light as opposed to a yellow/golden glow). This lighting is best achieved through facing a window (daylight). The addition of a side light/lamp and backlighting would be ideal.
Technology
A good webcam and mic should be considered, especially by a speaker that intends to move around (perhaps to demonstrate something). This may require a lavalier mic.
Practice
Before entering the virtual room, most apps allow the chance for the guest to see how they look on camera. This gives the chance to adjust the camera angle or height, or the seating, making sure that gestures can be seen.
Reading the room
With an audience’s audible back-channeling signals limited (most are likely to be on mute) a greater importance is placed on visible facial reactions. At certain points, the speaker will want to glance at the faces in the room, to see their reaction. Movement will draw attention but the speaker should not be put off by individual reactions, instead trends/patterns should be sought. If there’s lots of movement, the audience may have become bored or agitated.
Good signs of attention/listening to look out for include:
Tilted heads, indicating that the speaker has the ear of the receiver, unless the tilted heads are being supported.
Slightly raised eyebrows.
Nodding – if slow then agreement is being shown.
An absence of movement.
Mirroring.
Forward leaning.
Prolonged eye gaze.
Dilated pupils - suggest interest or aroused.
Genuine (Duchenne) smiles.
Bad signs from your audience:
Nodding – if fast, could be a sign of impatience.
Head shaking, often disagreement (but a slow nod can be shared incredulity).
Covering the eyes (or one eye), perhaps using a finger.
Disappearing lips.
Lowered eyebrows (but this could mean concentration or deliberation so consider context).
Rapid blink rate (arousal high)
Long blinking (boredom or eye blocking)
Constricted pupils.
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