Reading Body Language for productive Video Calls Dhiresh Kumar
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Reading body language for productive video calls
Doing business as usual in COVID Era is not easy. COVID-19 pandemic did not give
an early warning to enable us to prepare for remote work, build skills for effective
communication on video calls, instead it came like a Tsunami and we all have to learn
to swim through it as we are trying to understand the Tsunami itself. None of the
enterprises got time to train their workforce to communicate and collaborate effectively
remotely through video calls.
Today, I want to share my perspective from the lens of Sales Executive. There are many
sales roles like Business Development Manager, Account Executive, Client Partners,
Customer Relationship Manager, Account Manager, Sales Representative etc which
inherently requires in-person interaction and relies heavily on the face to face meetings.
Sales Executives who thrive on the face to face interaction are suddenly handicapped.
Star Sales Executives who ruled Board rooms are struggling to close business on Zoom
Meetings.
I have gone through the phase of shock, denial, frustration, adapt & experimentation
over the last 5 months. I never accepted the COVID realities fully so never adapted to
the situation effectively but slowly realties synced-in and just like most of us I started
figuring out Do’s and Don’ts of Video Call, I started observing participants, good
productive Vs poorly executed meeting, common mistakes people are making and flaws
of Video call in human interactions. We all communicate even when we are quiet. During
in-person interaction, the brain focuses partly on words but drive a lot of additional cues
from non-verbal cues and micro-expressions. Humans evolved as social animals,
perceiving these cues comes naturally to most of us and takes little conscious effort to
parse. However, a typical video call impairs these ingrained abilities and requires
sustained and intense attention to words instead. If a person is framed only from the
shoulders up, the possibility of viewing hand gestures or other body language is
eliminated. If the video quality is poor, any hope of gleaning something from facial
expressions is dashed. Prolonged eye contact has become the strongest facial cue
available. Multi-person screens magnify this exhausting problem. Gallery view—where

Reading Body Language for productive Video Calls Dhiresh Kumar
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all meeting participants appear with small icon challenges the brain’s central vision,
forcing it to decode so many people at once that no one comes through meaningfully.
90+% of all communication happens non-verbally, so it’s time to get self-conscious
around what our body is telling other people. We want to put the best gestures
forward when we are in a video call. This article is written to help us make the best of
our current situation, avoid common mistakes, organize and apply rules of human
behaviors, interactions, and above all body language to help make productive video
conference calls.
1 Use of Body Language for effective communication:
Many studies have emphasized the importance of body language in meetings. For
example, slouching in your chair shows an unenergetic and lethargic state, not making
eye contact shows a lack of confidence. While subtle, these differences can have big
impacts on the success of the meetings. However, many of these studies used in-person
meetings as reference points. With the rise of flexible work and distributed teams,
meetings are increasingly moving online. The obvious question is: does body
language still apply when you’re in a video call?
The answer is YES. While traditionally face-to-face meetings have a lot in common with
video conferences, there are certain aspects of your body language that you may want to
watch, Observe, and modify when you’re facing a screen. Body language is mostly
unconscious attributes of human reaction or action which remains consistent whether in-
person meetings or video calls. Humans naturally parse cues and with little conscious
effort can apply for their own advantage.
1.1 Use hand gestures for engagement and explanation.
Nod or Show Clap, or Smile. A few of the important hand gestures are shown below.
It’s not an exhaustive list but a selected few.

Reading Body Language for productive Video Calls Dhiresh Kumar
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Proposing an idea or
suggestion
Show Appreciation Honest, open and nothing
to hide
Grand Vision and/or Idea for
support
Finger Counting – To
convey multiple points
Agree & fully support
openness & Transparent Truthful and Trust me,
from the bottom of my
heart
Confident & I know my
topic well

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1.2 Learn Important facial expressions –
Nonverbal communication involves the interchange of information and influence
through contextual arrangements, static physical features, and ongoing nonverbal
behavior. It usually operates automatically and outside of awareness and highly
efficient. I would recommend learning and watching a few important facial expressions
like - Surprise, Happy, Angry, Frustrated, Grin, Sad, Fear, defensive, Genuine
smile
Surprised – Open shoulder
& Palm
Confused & Surprise –
Open Shoulder & Palm
Fake Smile to hide
thoughts or Stranger
smile – Tight lipped
smile with upward
curl

Reading Body Language for productive Video Calls Dhiresh Kumar
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Sarcasm – Feeling of
Superiority!!
Sarcasm Uneven Grin Smile with conflicting
message to Confuse
Genuine Smile with Teeth & Crow
Eyes
Genuine Smile with Teeth & Crow Eyes

Reading Body Language for productive Video Calls Dhiresh Kumar
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Big Smug – I told you
so !!
Mild Disgust – Now I
have to do what !!
mild pain, or frustration
Disgusted - you make me
sick !!
defensiveness and
unapproachability
Defensive and/or
avoiding response
It is pervasive in face-to-face interactions and in various forms of mediated
communication. Biology, culture, gender, personality, and the environment combine
to shape stable patterns of nonverbal communication. Don’t let your facial expressions
run wild. Every expression tells a story –let yours be a friendly one. This is especially
important when you are listening to others and are in “passive” mode. Don’t think you
can leave your facial expressions unattended; it could be your downfall. Put concerted
effort into looking engaged and open to the speaker’s points. Always have a small
smile that shows some teeth –but not a smirk. Don’t ever force a smile and relax and
genuinely enjoy being in the moment. Raise your eyebrows slightly too. Raised
eyebrows signifies curiosity & its expression of engaged & active listening.

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1.3 Avoid Direct Expressionless Face Glare –
It's rude to make hard glare without shaking head or blinking… Don’t look robot. Its
awkward look and looks like videos are frozen. Speaker is expecting a response from
listener and occasion nod, body movement, facial expression conveys a lot, and
makes conversion engaging.
1.4 Slow Down when making a Key point –
It’s important to make note of this point. During the video and/or audio call, it’s
important to get attention when the speaker is making key points. Make sure of the
tone and speed of your voice to get attention. When regular speed and tone are

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changed, the human body immediately registers the difference and get the attention.
You would have noticed the same observation when a new speaker makes a point
and immediately your mind related it to the name or face of the person. That’s how we
typically recall new participants during the audio call. Use this technique to change the
Tone or Pitch of your voice if not possible, just change the speed by slowing down.
During the video call, keep your chin High, open body, open palm, open arm, and slow
down while making Key points to make a solid impression.
1.5 Count on your Finger –
During the Video Call, when you want to make multiple points. You can enhance your
visuals by adding hand gestures and fingers. Start counting points on fingers while
showing it on video. It increases attention and recalls many folds.
Finger Counting – To convey multiple points
1.6 Do not Adjust face, Hair when you log to video call.
Adjust your view, background, hair, clothing etc in preview camera setting. Come
prepared for the first impression by big fresh greeting hi /Hello/Namaskar. Use a few
seconds for icebreakers and socialize before the call.

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Avoid Testing Facial
expressions during the call
Avoid Testing Zoom IN or Out during the
Video Call
1.7 Wave and smile during intro and outro -
Show you palms, hands. Waves & do Hello/Namaste
Greetings, smiling and hand gestures add to the effective communication on Video. It
brings people closer and bridges physical distances during call.
1.8 Happy, confident & consistent voice -
Humans are very developed and sensitive to recognize changes in voice tone & pitch.
We can easily make-out mood of individual based on Tone and pitch of the voice.
Humans can sense Fear, anxiety, nervousness, anger, rudeness, interest or lack of
interest by sheer tone and pitch of voice. Don't talk on high pitch or hold your breath

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while talking. People can make out quickly changes in your tone and it shows
nervousness and anxiety.
2 Conclusion
A study conducted at UCLA found a majority of communication to be nonverbal,
although the study’s exact statistics—which showed only 7% of any message to
be relayed through words, 38% through vocal elements such as tone, and 55%
through nonverbal elements such as posture and gesture—are often disputed. I’m not
here to critique the validity of statistics and/or percentage of tone or posture in
communication but it's very clear to me from the last 5 months of regular video calls
every day that video calls are much more effective than audio calls. I can easily make
out who is losing interest in the middle of the meeting, whose body gestures are
resonating with the topic and who seems to be unconvinced and who is nodding head
in disgust. I’ve used these body postures and gestures to entice engagement, calling
attention toward individuals and changing the tone of meeting as I would have done if
I’m doing an in-person meeting.