Using body language in virtual meetings and interviews
Paying attention to your body language is a key best practice for virtual interviews and meetings. Here are ways that you can employ body language in virtual meetings and interviews to make a positive impression and complement verbal communication.
Maintain good posture
You may feel more relaxed sitting in your office or home than you do around a conference table, but resist the urge to get too comfortable. Slouching in your seat may make you seem less invested. Instead, position your body close to the edge of your seat. This will put you in clearer view of the camera and lower the likelihood of slumping. Focus on maintaining a straight spine and keeping your shoulders back.
Master the neutral expression
In face-to-face meetings and interviews, individuals devote most of their focus to whoever is speaking, but this isn’t necessarily the case during virtual communications. On most video conferencing platforms, your face remains on the screen even when you’re not speaking, so there is a chance that other participants may glance at you at any given time.
Since you don’t want anyone to catch you rolling your eyes, smirking or looking completely tuned out, practice maintaining a neutral expression by keeping your forehead and jaw relaxed. When you’re in the midst of a meeting or interview, be mindful of your facial expressions, but don’t actively watch yourself on the screen, as this could make it seem like you’re not paying attention.
Don’t forget about your hands
Your hands can be an asset or a liability during virtual interviews. Appropriate hand gestures may help keep attention focused on you and make your presentations more compelling. When using your hands, keep them at upper neck or chest level to avoid blocking the view of your face.
If you’re not speaking, keep your hands folded in your lap. Don’t lean on one arm, touch your face or play with your hair while someone else has the virtual floor. This is especially important during interviews and one-on-one or small group meetings.
Use controlled exaggeration
Subtle facial expressions may be difficult to interpret during virtual interviews, so adjust yours accordingly. Instead of giving a faint, tight-lipped smile, make it a full grin. If you’re responding with surprise, widen your eyes a little more than usual. Nod more fully to indicate understanding. Just make sure not to exaggerate to the point that your expressions and gestures become overly dramatic.
Play to the camera
Where you focus your gaze has a big impact on how invested in a meeting or interview you seem. Since the screen dominates your field of vision, it feels natural to focus your attention there, but doing so can make it seem like you’re checked out. Instead, keep your eyes focused on the camera and occasionally glance at the screen to assess the body language of others around you.
Interpreting body language in interviews and meetings conducted virtually
When conducting virtual interviews and meetings, nonverbal cues are just as important as they are when talking face-to-face. The following virtual body language tips can help improve conversations with meeting participants and assess the communication skills of candidates.
Watch for the head tilt
Tilting your head is a natural response during conversations. It often indicates that a person is listening intently and thinking about your message. If you don’t see tilted heads while giving a virtual presentation, pause and make sure everyone is still with you or consider taking a short break. During a virtual interview, tilting is a good sign that the candidate is fully engaged and practicing active listening.
Consider if video is in the job description
If your open position involves participating in virtual meetings with employees, customers or vendors, assessing body language in interviews is especially important. After the interview ends, ask yourself what you would think of the candidate’s body language if you were a key stakeholder or top prospective customer. For positions that are unlikely to involve frequent video conferencing, you may wish to place less weight on body language when completing interview evaluations.
Notice eye contact
When you’re interviewing someone or having a one-on-one virtual conversation, eye position is important. Although you can’t look into each other’s eyes, you should have your eyes forward and on the main screen as much as possible.
During a meeting, a lack of eye contact or frequent eye movements could mean that the other person is uncomfortable or upset. A candidate who looks everywhere else except at you during an interview may be someone who is easily distracted or lacks strong oral communication skills.
There is one caveat to using eye contact for assessing interview performance — it could put neurodivergent individuals at a disadvantage. Because some individuals find it difficult to maintain eye contact, avoid using it as the primary method of evaluating a person’s communication skills.
Monitor mouth movements
When you’re speaking, try to monitor the mouth movements of other meeting participants. If you notice someone biting their lip, they may feel nervous or stressed. Trying to cover or conceal their mouth may indicate an attempt to conceal an emotion or reaction, like the urge to laugh or a frown. Pursed lips could mean the other party disagrees or disapproves.
Beyond body language: Zoom and virtual meeting platform tips
Virtual meetings and interviews introduce other visual elements to communication. Paying attention to the following can help complement your efforts to improve body language in virtual meetings on Zoom and other platforms:
Your personal appearance
Even if you’re attending a meeting or interview from your living room, you don’t want to look like you’re hanging out at home. Dress for the virtual event the same way you would an in-person one. Some individuals choose to dress professionally only from the waist up, but resist that temptation. You don’t want to give your coworkers, customers or candidate a surprise if you need to stand up unexpectedly.
How you fill the frame
During a virtual meeting, you want to be the dominant feature on the screen, so you’re easy to see and your body language is easier to read. At the same time, you need to avoid being uncomfortably close to the camera. Before using a computer or device for interviewing for the first time, turn on the camera and sit just as you would during the interview. Are you centered in the frame? Are your neck and shoulders visible? If you can’t see them, move back. If you can see more of your body, move forward.
What else is in the frame
To ensure your surroundings aren’t a distraction or send the wrong message, take a few screenshots of your screen with your webcam on. Consider the overall appearance of the setting and then zoom in to look for any potentially problematic details. If you’re using Zoom or another platform that allows you to use neutral backgrounds, consider doing so to help your job candidate or team focus on you.