How To Be More Visible on Virtual Meetings - Part II

In last week's post, I shared tips that could help you communicate better on virtual calls.

Today we will look at some non verbal tips to help you ace your online presence.

Tip # 6: Eye contact: The Triangle Technique

If your video is on, eye contact also comes into the picture. Where do you look when you are staring at your laptop screen - when you talk and when you listen?

Most of the times we look at our own image when we talk on screen. This makes our eye contact appear a little off to the people looking at us.

Try this: Start a dummy video call and trace your eyes as you look at different points on the screen. Mainly, notice the difference when you look into the camera lens and when you look at your own image on screen.

You may have to do this a few times to correctly trace where you are looking and which one looks right.

You will clearly see that looking at the lens is the right eye contact to make with everyone - it seems like you are looking right at people.

But you can't be staring at the lens the whole time - that's not what we naturally do in physical meetings, right?

So how do we move our eyes around in a virtual meeting?

Use the Triangle Technique - in physical meetings, the triangle is imaginary going through the eyes and mouth of the person in front of you. Every 5-10 seconds, you move your gaze between the eyes and the mouth. This way you are not staring at someone the whole time.

The Triangle Technique helps move your eyes around naturally during a video call

Here is a video demonstrating eye contact on virtual calls

Tip # 7: Anchoring

Virtual meetings are challenging in more ways than one. One big change is the way we use our body language - or don't!

Most of us are talking heads on a laptop screen and the only other thing available to us is our hands. The rest of our body is gone along with its language!

Using hand gestures effectively can make you a better communicator on your video calls.

Research has shown that the right hand gestures get people to take you more seriously. The most popular TED Talks have almost twice the number of hand gestures than the one less viewed.

So making good use of them in virtual meetings can only enhance your image and what you say.

And anchoring is one of the ways to use hand gestures more meaningfully.

So what is anchoring?

Anchoring is using different points on your screen to anchor different ideas.

This adds additional visual cues to what you say and make it memorable for the listeners. (Another reason why keeping your video on is a bonus)

Here is a video demonstrating how to use anchoring effectively on a video call

Tip # 8: Dress up

I know one of the advantages of work from home is the luxury to lounge in your pajamas all day. One can make do with being mute and invisible in the long line of meetings happening all day!

But if your personal brand is important to you and want people to take you seriously, this will have to change!

And experts agree, at least the top half needs to be dressed up for Zoom meetings!

You need to appear authentic and trustworthy in meetings.

The Harvard Business Review conducted a survey on 3 different backgrounds, colours and kinds of attire on a video call to see which one was the most preferred. And turns out that even on a video call, colours and types of attire matter.

Business casuals was the most popular choice if you are presenting to peers but suiting up is a great option if you are addressing senior managers or important clients.

So pay attention to what you casually throw on for virtual meetings and if it will make the impact you desire.

Tip # 9: Find your energy sweet spot

You are sitting at home dressed casually. You plonked yourself on a couch for yet another meeting where you are a passive listener.

Suddenly, the discussion takes a turn and you want to say something.

How much energy and conviction could you send across on a video call from the comfort of your couch?

On the other hand, some people pump in a whole lot of energy on video calls since we know virtual medium needs a little more than physical meetings.

So what is the sweet spot to appear energetic and project confidence?

That's what you need to find for yourself!

I sit up at my work desk - and you should too - to ensure I am alert. I use voice modulation to get the emotions across and of course, hand gestures add to the energy and meaning of what I say.

You should sound as close to how you would in a physical meeting. You need to be energetic and animated to keep your audience interested.

I hope these tips will help you build a strong presence for yourself even on the work-from-home phase.

Which is your favourite tip from this list?

If you'd like me to help you project confidence in your virtual meetings and sales calls, drop me a line in the comments and I'll be happy to help you.

Here is a detailed version of this post.