How to Come Across Better in Video Meetings, According to an Expert
Are we too relaxed with videoconferencing? University of Gothenburg associate professor Géraldine Fauville helps us to reconsider the ideal gaze, camera angle and background.
When a participant is looking at the camera, it’s associated with being more likeable and having more social presence.
As a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford, I co-authored a paper about the impressions people form of others during videoconferencing. We found that looking at the camera increases interpersonal attraction. If I gaze directly at the camera, this gives you the impression that I’m making eye contact with you – which I’m not, because I’m looking at the camera. This mimicking of eye contact creates challenges because the moment I look at the camera, I don’t see your body language and it’s more difficult for me to adapt to signals you send.
The best angle is a high camera angle.
Position your camera a bit higher than eye level – this increases personal attraction and decreases threat perception. This style is also used in cinematography; when the camera is low and looking up at someone, they are a threat. Our research didn’t discover any effect of participants’ distance from the screen but when someone is close to your face and looking at you directly, it’s an intense situation. It’s why people in elevators will do anything to avoid staring at others.
One issue contributing to Zoom fatigue is immobility.
We feel physically trapped because in a video conference you need to stay in the eye of the camera, whereas during a face-to-face meeting, you can move your body. Second, being the focus of attention can create a stressful situation where you feel like all eyes are on you. Women suffer more from Zoom fatigue and participants of colour also reported greater fatigue than white participants. This race effect was something we did not predict and needs to be studied further.
A study from Durham University that looked at the impact of video backgrounds found the best were books or plants.
Using one of these means you will be perceived as more trustworthy and competent. The backgrounds viewed as significantly less trustworthy were home or novelty backgrounds. The study also found that happy, smiling faces on video calls were linked to a higher level of trustworthiness and competence, as were female faces.
There are papers showing that working together in virtual reality can foster collaboration and a peaceful environment that encourages openness and perhaps greater creativity.
However, a 2022 study in the science journal, Nature, found that videoconferencing is the wrong place for producing new ideas as it limits you to a square field of view. I have experienced this myself and have a tendency to “go outside” during any ideation process. I look out my window.
