How to Read Notes and Still Make Perfect Eye Contact on Zoom

I think most of us were blown away by Zoom, Teams and easy-to-use videoconferencing software the first time we used it. Now that these platforms have become ubiquitous in business and the novelty has worn off, you've probably started to notice some distracting things about typical videoconference calls.

A few months ago, I wrote an article and published some videos to help address some of the common distractions that can affect one's appearance on videoconference platforms--lighting, camera placement, and fake background usage. While a lot can be done with simple lighting and camera placement to significantly improve one's appearance on videoconference calls, there's still a big problem when it comes to maintaining eye contact and referring to notes.

The problem is inherent to the nature of most computer setups, where the user sits close to the computer, the camera is integrated into the top of the screen, and the other participants in the call (or the notes you're reading) are several inches below the camera.

This creates a fairly wide arc that your eyes must cover when looking at the camera (making perfect eye contact from the viewpoint of the others on the call) to glancing down to see the other participants or notes (which is quite visible to the other participants).

If you've ever tried to do an entire call looking directly in to the camera, you've probably felt odd...isolated. If you're looking at the camera, then you're not seeing the reactions of the others on the call, and that can feel quite unusual. While looking directly into the camera earns you style points for maintaining eye contact, you lose one of the most important feedback loops on the call--you can't gauge the reaction of the other participants without breaking eye contact.

When giving a live presentation, it is customary to make eye contact "around the room." No audience perceives this as rude or unusual. But on a videoconference call, you must look DOWN to see the audience, and such eye movements are generally equated with lack of preparedness or worse.

But this problem can be solved if you have the ability to separate your screen, camera and seating position. While this setup requires some space (either an office or conference room) and lacks the convenience of dialing in on a laptop or tablet, it will allow you to maintain perfect eye contact at all times AND view the audience AND read notes...and the audience will NEVER know!

I explain how to do this in two short videos. In the first (HERE ), I cover how to set up your camera and screen to maximize eye contact. In the second (HERE ), I show how to add notes into the equation. In both videos, you'll be able to see what the results look like because, in each video, I'm reading from notes!

Essentially, this setup is a "poor man's teleprompter." Teleprompters are great tools, but they are expensive and sometimes difficult to operate, and who wants to lug another piece of gear around? Separation between you, your camera and your screen is all you need to look professional.

I hope you'll find this useful for your next important presentation over videoconference. If you have any tricks of your own, I'd love to hear them. Feel free to reach out or comment.