I was trained as a filmmaker. So I always thought the most normal thing to do was to look straight into the camera.
Then Zoom calls happened.
And I couldn’t figure out where to look!
❓If I looked at the other person, I wasn’t looking at the camera.
❓If I looked at the camera, I couldn’t focus on the other person.
❓And of course, what I REALLY kept doing was looking at myself.
But what’s the big deal?
Why make an effort to look into the camera?
Because when you look into the camera, the other person feels like you’re looking at them.
They feel important. They like you more. They trust you.
They are more likely to do what you ask.
Convinced this could be worth a try? Great.
Here’s my weird trick to hack confidence on every call:
🔥 I drag my video call window right up to the top of my screen, as close to the webcam as possible.
🔥 I decrease the window size as much as possible.
The first two steps help keep my eyes as CLOSE as possible to the webcam.
🔥 Finally, I pin the speaker’s video. This makes me much smaller in the window.
This helps curb the temptation to look at myself.
So my Zoom setup often looks like this:
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You will still not be directly looking into the camera, but the difference will become almost imperceptible. The other person will perceive you as basically looking at them.
Try this out next time and see if the other person feels more comfortable with you.
You might notice subtle cues like them smiling more.
And you might notice that it’s easier for you to focus on their expressions, now that you’re not tempted to keep checking your hair.
❗Watch-out: if you’re recording the call this way, your video won’t be recorded at all.
Did this help? Was this interesting? If so, I’d LOVE to hear from you! Just reply to this email to tell me what you thought of this tip and if you’d like to hear more.
PS. I’ve been working hard on launching my Speak to Get Leads bootcamp. I am going to be announcing it NEXT WEEK on LinkedIn! But YOU will get to hear about it first. 💜
P.P.S Want more help? Check out the on camera videos for more tips to increase confidence on camera.
