If you really think about it for a moment, when it comes to video calls, work changed work in a way nobody really prepared for. Okay, well, not the tech part, that part’s fine. It’s the fact that for hours at a time, you’re basically sitting in front of a little mirror while trying to sound calm, smart, and professional. Actually, if you run a business that you’re trying to make successful, well, that makes it even harder.
And yeah, that does something to a person. It turns normal conversations into this weird mix of listening, talking, and also quietly checking your own face the whole time, like you’re multitasking against your will. In real life, nobody walks around holding a mirror under their chin during meetings, right? But on video calls, it’s right there. So confidence got harder, not because people basically became less capable, but because the brain got stuck in self-monitoring mode.
Zoom Face is Real
But what is this even? Well, on camera, lighting is often bad, angles are unforgiving, and the lens can distort features in ways that don’t match real life. That already sounds super unflattering here, but just go ahead and add in tiredness, stress, and whatever the day has been like, and it’s easy to think how distracting this all could actually be. And the issue isn’t wanting to look decent. Wanting to look decent is normal. But if you look super unflattering on camera, how are you not going to pay any attention to this, right?
Smile Confidence Gets Weird On Camera
Smiling on camera is a whole thing. Some people feel totally fine smiling in real life, but on camera, it just somehow feels awkward, you know? Maybe it’s because teeth show more, maybe it’s because the lighting makes everything look harsher, maybe it’s because you’re literally watching yourself do it and overthinking it (kinda like what was mentioned above).
For people dealing with bigger smile-related issues, like missing teeth or changes that make smiling feel stressful, getting support can be part of feeling more comfortable being seen. Which, of course, makes a lot of sense. Some people look into restorative options so they can keep their confidence through all these meetings. For example, it’s pretty common for people to go to San Francisco Dental Implant Center to get long-term fixes on their teeth, especially if this means they’ll be less hesitant to talk and smile during video calls and in-person meetings.
The Constant Self-Monitoring is the Confidence Killer
It was already mentioned, but it deserves its own specific paragraph here. Anyways, video calls basically trained people to watch themselves talk. That’s a weird experience. In person, you’re focused on the other person, the room, the conversation. On video, you’re watching your own reactions in real time, and it can make you more self-conscious than you’d ever be in a normal meeting.
Does this sound like you? If your brain was busy managing how you looked while you talked, and that drains presence fast, therefore more hesitation.
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