© Zoom
How to make a good impression during professional video calls? While many employees are now teleworking, these remote meetings have now taken on preponderant importance. New issues must therefore be taken into account, and this is precisely the subject of research carried out by scientists from the University of Durham in the United Kingdom.
The researchers analyzed 167 different reactions to images captured during video meetings. Several surprising findings emerge, notably the importance of the background. Thus, those composed of houseplants or bookcases seemed more trustworthy to observers. On the other hand, participants felt that fanciful images or the absence of wallpaper appeared unprofessional.
Clothes are less important
Another observation: respondents judged that smiling faces and women were more trustworthy than other participants in a video meeting, particularly men and people with a neutral expression.
Conversely, while professional clothing is judged to be very important in the impression given face-to-face, it seems much less useful in the context of a videoconference.
There is no doubt that these conclusions will be closely scrutinized by human resources managers and managers. Especially since, as our colleagues at Forbes point out, it is estimated that 75% of business meetings should take place by videoconference next year. In this context, making a good impression via video will no longer be a matter of detail, but could well have an impact on career development.
As a reminder, these meetings on Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Skype are not to everyone's taste. We know that many employees suffer from what some scientists have called “Zoom fatigue”. The latter is a source of discomfort and physical and mental health problems can appear.
In a previous article, we listed 7 good tips to make these moments more comfortable. Were you aware of all these issues related to video meetings? Please let us know what you think in the comments.
What to remember:
- Meeting participants in visio tend to be more trusted by people who have backgrounds consisting of houseplants or bookcases
- Women and smiling people are equally valued
- Some participants suffer of “Zoom fatigue”, a discomfort created by videoconferencing
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