Conversation tips
How to Be Less Awkward on Camera
Learning how to be less awkward on camera mostly means doing less, not more: stop watching yourself, look at the lens when you're making a point, keep your hands visible and relaxed, and react a little bigger than you would in person. Most on-camera awkwardness comes from self-monitoring, not from how you look or sound.
This guide is about behavior: where your eyes, hands and face should go. For lighting and framing, see how to look good on webcam. The gear matters less than you'd think.
Why you feel awkward on video calls
In person, you never see your own face while you talk. On a video call you do, constantly, and your brain can't help checking it. Stanford researcher Jeremy Bailenson has pointed to this all-day mirror as one of the reasons video calls feel so tiring.
- Self-view: you watch your own face and start editing it mid-sentence.
- Delay: a slight lag makes laughs land late and turns overlap.
- Fewer cues: you see a face and shoulders, so posture and hands are harder to read.
Almost everyone feels stiffer on camera than in real life. It's a setup problem, not a personality problem, which is good news: setups can be changed.
The self-view trick
The single biggest fix: check your frame once, then stop looking at yourself.
- Before you connect, glance at your preview. Is your face lit, are your eyes near the top third of the frame, and is there nothing in the background you'd rather keep private?
- Then hide, shrink or ignore your self-view. Many video apps have an option to hide it. If yours doesn't, a sticky note over that corner of a laptop screen works.
- Put your attention on the other person's face. You'll start reacting to them instead of to yourself.
On a phone, where covering part of the screen isn't practical, simply keep your eyes on their video. Each time you catch yourself checking your hair, look back at them and ask something.
Treat staring at your own face as a cue to ask a question. Curiosity pulls your attention outward faster than willpower does.
Where to look during a video chat
You can't look at the lens and at the other person's eyes at the same time, so split it by moment:
| Moment | Look at | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Saying hello | The lens | It reads as eye contact on their end |
| Making a point or delivering a punchline | The lens | It lands as if you're speaking straight to them |
| Listening | Their face on screen | You catch their expressions and can react |
| Thinking | Away, briefly | Normal in person and normal on camera |
Move their video as close to your camera as you can, usually top center on a laptop, so even looking at their face is close to eye contact. Making eye contact on video calls goes into more detail.
What to do with your hands
Hidden hands look stiff, and hands that wander to your face or phone look distracted. Aim for hands that show up now and then and stay calm the rest of the time.
| Awkward habit | Try this instead |
|---|---|
| Hands out of frame the whole time | Rest your forearms on the desk and let a gesture rise into view now and then |
| Touching your face, hair or chin | Hold a mug or a pen; it gives your hands a job |
| Checking your phone between answers | Put it face down or out of reach before you start |
| Gesturing right in front of the lens | Gesture at chest height so your hands don't block your face |
| Arms crossed tightly | Uncross them and lean your forearms forward |
Waving hello and goodbye, or holding up the thing you're talking about, are natural camera gestures. Big, clear movements read better than small fidgety ones.
How to be natural on camera: posture and movement
- Sit, don't perch. Sit back with your back supported, then let your shoulders drop. Rigidly upright looks as awkward as slouching.
- Lean in slightly while they're talking. It reads as interest.
- Keep the camera still. On a phone, prop it up instead of holding it; constant wobble makes both of you feel seasick.
- Stay about an arm's length away. Too close and every expression is enormous; too far and you look like you're hiding.
- Move like a person. Shifting, laughing and reaching for your drink are fine. Holding perfectly still is what looks strange.
For the setup side of this (camera height and framing), see the best camera angle for video calls.
Smiling naturally and reacting on camera
Your resting face looks flatter on camera than it feels from the inside. You don't need a fixed grin, but you do need to show reactions a little more than usual.
- Smile at something real. A forced smile freezes; a smile at something they said moves naturally. Listen for things you genuinely find funny or nice.
- Nod visibly. A small nod in person almost disappears in a small video window.
- Use your eyebrows. Raised eyebrows say "really?" without interrupting.
- Laugh out loud when something's funny, rather than smiling silently. Sound carries more than a small picture does.
- Say what you're feeling. "Ha, that's great" or "Oh no" fills the gap that body language fills in person.
Camera shy tips: a gentle warm-up
If the camera itself makes you nervous, build up in small steps instead of forcing a long chat.
- Talk to your phone's camera app for one minute. Describe your day out loud, then delete the clip. It gets you used to seeing your face move.
- Start with text. On Omlet you can turn your camera off and use the text chat, which runs alongside the video. Turn the camera on once you're comfortable.
- Do three very short chats. The only goal: smile, say hi, ask one question, then press Next. What to say when you get matched gives you the lines.
- Stay for one longer conversation. Borrow a couple of techniques from how to keep a conversation going so you're not inventing everything live.
- Notice what went fine. People remember the chat, not your face. Most of them are busy worrying about their own.
If nerves go beyond the camera and into conversations in general, practicing conversations with social anxiety offers a slower, kinder plan.
Camera off is allowed, but plenty of people skip a black screen. If you want longer chats, turning your camera on, even with imperfect lighting, usually helps.
When an awkward moment happens anyway
Awkward moments happen to everyone. The fix is to name them lightly and keep going.
- You talk over each other: "Sorry, you go first." Then actually wait.
- You freeze mid-sentence: "I think I froze. What was the last thing you heard?"
- You lose your train of thought: "I had a point and it's gone. Anyway, tell me about..."
- You notice you're blushing or fidgeting: say nothing. They almost certainly didn't notice.