From telegram to radio to moving pictures and television – each advance significantly changed the world, bridging distances, bringing people closer. Though television has long been a one-way feed, it allowed for a deeper more meaningful experience than radio alone through body language, facial expressions, and its ability to take us to other places. 

As cameras started appearing on every laptop, mobile device, and tablet, two-way video became possible and more commonplace. This has had a profound impact on how we connect, communicate, and interact with others. Video conferencing has fundamentally changed the experience of meeting by allowing for more complex communication than audio ever could.  

Research has shown people develop trust more quickly when they can see who they’re talking to, even if it’s just a picture. Interestingly, if you already know someone well, a picture or video isn’t nearly as important as good audio. This was affirmed recently when someone I know and have worked with for years said during a virtual meeting (we turned off our cameras because of bandwidth issues), “I don’t need to see you, I know the expression on your face just by the sound of your voice!” 

When meeting with people you don’t know very well, or even if you do, it’s so important and valuable to be visible. If you’re unable to use a camera, a picture of yourself uploaded to whatever application you’re using is important and worthwhile. Equally important is good audio, but I plan to cover that in a future post. 

In this post I hope to convince you to always, always, always, turn on your camera when meeting with coworkers. Treat every meeting like an in-person meeting and show your face. There are few reasons not to and many reasons you should.  

Some reasons I’ve heard for not using a camera during meetings: 

1. Don’t have a camera (or computer) 
2. In a public place 
3. At home, don’t want people to see your house 
4. Concerned with how you look 
5. Don’t like seeing yourself 
6. In a meeting you don’t want to be in 
7. Don’t need to talk, just there to listen 

I’ll say this as nicely as I can; those are excuses. If you were invited to meet in person, some of these reasons aren’t valid. Either way, none of them are good reasons to not use your camera.  

When distance does not allow for meeting in person, we should strive for the next best thing. When telephones were the only technology we had for real-time communication, conference calls were the “next best thing.” These days, with access to cameras and headsets so ubiquitous, treating virtual meetings as conference calls is a missed opportunity. It’s time to move on to the next best thing.   

Reasons why you should always turn on your camera: 

1. It’s the closest experience to meeting face-to-face  
2. Improves working relationships  
3. Shows you’re present (being here now) 
4. Cultivates trust with people you don’t know 
5. Helps people get to know you faster
6. Shows you’re paying attention 
7. Allows for non-verbal communication through body language, facial expressions, etc. 
8. Improves your ability to influence outcomes 
9. Adds value to your interactions with others in the meeting 

During a recent one-on-one meeting, the person I was meeting with happened to be home and didn’t want to turn on their camera. The excuse was it was too early. With sadness in my voice I say, “That’s a bummer…I guess it’ll be like a phone call.” and turned off my camera. There was a pause then, “Okay, okay, let’s turn our cameras on, but don’t judge me!” That experience made me feel good, like the person cared about the quality of our interaction and recognized the value in being able to see each other. I really appreciated it. While I didn’t judge, I will note there were teddy bears in the background. His willingness to be vulnerable (teddy bears) meant a lot. It cultivated feelings of trust. Hopefully sharing this doesn’t undermine that trust because it was an interesting and eye-opening experience. 

In another virtual meeting with about 15 participants from different states and countries, only three of us had cameras on. Of the other twelve, many of whom I didn’t know, one or two were working from home and joked “you don’t want to see me!” (see excuses above). A few chuckled, but in truth it impacts our ability to trust, connect, influence, and be influenced. Working from home or with others remotely is not an excuse to do less than the next best thing to meeting in person. 

Of the remaining ten people in the meeting who did not turn on their cameras, they didn’t speak at all. It made me wonder if they were there or if perhaps, they were only attending because they had to. I didn’t feel like I could trust them as much. Even if you don’t talk in a meeting, you can participate by being visible, using non-verbal communication. Nodding or shaking your head, raising an eyebrow, scrunching up your face, these cues can speak volumes and are so valuable to others. The ability to communicate non-verbally is key to building trust, consensus, or to drive outcomes.  

Summary and Closing 

Every work meeting, whether virtual or a combination of in-person and virtual, should be treated as an in-person meeting. This means being visible, audible, and present. The applications and hardware available to us are nothing short of incredible and go a long way to mitigate the consequences of not being in the same room. When using your camera, pay attention to your space, the location of your camera, the lighting, where you’re looking when someone is talking. 

If you want to improve your ability to connect and communicate with others during virtual meetings, turn on your camera. If you’re interested in improving your ability to influence others you can’t meet in person because of distance, turn on your camera. If you want to cultivate trust when working with others at a distance, turn on your camera. If you must attend a virtual meeting during transit or when driving, maybe don’t turn on your camera. Be safe please.

Hopefully this helps you understand the importance and value of using a camera when possible. I always appreciate when people turn on their cameras during meetings or presentations. I bet you do too. Be one of those people and see if it doesn’t improve your conversations.