How to Be Trustworthy and Inspiring (on Video and in Person)

Idea

Body language is incredibly important because people make judgments about you the moment they see you, even on a video conference.

Example

To optimize how trustworthy and credible you come across when you’re on camera, avoid setting your camera up lower than your eye-line. This makes you appear less trustworthy and less credible because whoever you’re on a video call with will be looking right up your nose.

When you have that height dominance, whoever you’re on a video call with is going to feel a bit oppressed by that and they might not trust you as much.

Try to set up your camera so that your eye-line is at the same level as the other person’s eye-line. For example, by putting your camera up on a box, this one tiny alteration puts you and your viewers on the same level so that you don’t have height dominance on them.

Action

If you’re interested in building more trust and credibility on video, when you get back to your home office, or your cubicle, or wherever you work from, raise the camera up.

Bonus Tip: Being inspiring isn’t so much about what you say as it is about the body that you have while you’re saying it. However you’re communicating, whether it’s face-to-face, on video or on the phone, think about being inspired on your first in-breath as you start talking with someone. It will make a difference in how you come across.