Since the world moved online during the Covid-19 pandemic, one of the most common questions I get asked is about how to make eye contact online.
Whether, it’s Teams, Zoom, Google Meet, Webex, or anywhere, eye contact remains key to building trust and rapport.
We’ve all seen it.
Someone looking at the face of their audience member, and all we can now see is the top of their head.
As someone who’s going greyer by the day, this is crucial for me to avoid.
Thankfully there are some simple tips you can use instantly to help.
Why do we do this?
As humans, we love validation.
Especially when we feel insecure and vulnerable.
Safe to say, speaking in front of others often makes use feel exactly that way.
So we spend our entire time staring at the gallery view to check the reactions of those listening.
It feels natural to you as the speaker. However, it can often disconnect you from everyone watching.
In person, eye contact happens naturally. Online, we need to be intentional with it.
Eye lines and eye levels
Let’s start with how to position ourselves to maximise eye contact during the call.
The first step is to raise your laptop. Often, we see people with laptops too low, giving us a lovely shot right up their nose.
We also see laptops too high, or cameras on a second screen giving us the idea something far more interesting is happening elsewhere.
If we can bring the laptop up to a level where the camera is in line with our eyes, we’re already doing better.
We can use anything to make this happen. Proper laptop stands and adjustable desks are great.
However, speaking from experience, a pile of books and/or a very large candle can do the trick just as well.
The other trick to this is to frame ourselves correctly.
Think newsreader on the television.
Central with minimal space above the head.
The best way to achieve this (once the laptop is at eye height), is to sit approximately arm’s length from the camera.
This brings us front and centre. Like a broadcaster.
Once we’ve done both these things, the important part is to make sure we look at the camera rather than the screen.
This is how we intentionally create eye contact when presenting online.
Avoiding distraction
The biggest distraction from that final point is often ‘what are people thinking? I better check…’
And we look down, breaking eye contact in the process.
If we’re listening, rather than speaking, it’s right to look at the speaker in the gallery view.
Otherwise, we need to trust our content, rather than seeking validation.
Mainly because feedback from the audience can be misleading.
I once had an in-person audience member tell the 2.5-hour workshop he’s just sat through was the best he’d seen in 40 years of teaching.
All after sitting there with his arms folded the entire time.
I’ve also had the most delightfully smiley audience member give me a 1/10 on my feedback form.
If I’d used their faces to adjust my presentation halfway through, I’d have been wildly wrong.
Avoid the distraction of feeling you need to see your audience’s faces.
I’d even go as far as to argue that we should hide them. Possibly even with some notes.
Whether these are in your own notebook, or a minimised word document, these can also become distracting.
You can tell straight away when someone’s eyes are darting between the camera and their notes.
It looks uncertain.
The simple trick here is to keep the notebook or the window as close to your camera as possible, while keeping the notes themselves to a few simple words.
Use these bullet points to prompt your next section, rather than scripting it.
This helps us sound more natural and gives us more time looking at the camera. It also minimises the time between camera and notes.
Hybrid meetings
Finally, how do we do this if we have half the people attending in person, with the other half dialling in online?
It can feel awkward having to pick between the two audiences.
We’d always suggest remembering that this is just one audience.
Simply treat the camera as one member of the audience.
Splitting eye contact across any audience is vital. This works for large audiences by splitting them into sections, or individually by making intentional eye contact with each person.
Once the extra ‘member’ comes along in the shape of a camera, this simply becomes another set of eyes to look at. Intentionally.
Ultimately, great virtual communication is about being conscious with how you use it.
These small adjustments are designed to have a big impact on your next team meeting, big presentation, or even the family quiz.
It allows you to look more trustworthy and credible, helping you to get the results you want.
Small adjustments to where you look can make a big difference to how confident, credible and engaging you appear—whether you’re leading a team meeting, pitching to a client or presenting to hundreds online.
How to make eye contact in online meetings
If you’re wondering where to start with eye contact, or need help with other elements of body language, we’d love to hear from you.
Get in touch today to find out how we can assist you or your team with communication.
Photos in How to make eye contact in online meetings by Pink Elephant Communications.
How to make eye contact in online meetings was written by Stuart Fenwick and edited by Maxine Montgomery.
