When you're sitting across from someone in a conference room, your brain is processing hundreds of signals at once: a raised eyebrow, a subtle shift in posture, the speed at which they lean back. Remote work didn't eliminate those signals. It just changed the channel they travel on, and most of us haven't updated our receivers.
Think about the last dozen virtual calls you've been on. How many of these did you notice?
- A VP crinkles his forehead at a comment
- An engineer shifts awkwardly in his chair
- An HR executive nods along to everything being said
- A sales leader leans back and folds their arms
In person, we read those cues automatically. On a video call, the same signals are still transmitting. The question is whether you're fluent enough in the new medium to pick them up, and whether you're sending the right ones yourself.
The Analog Roots of Non-Verbal Communication
We don't learn to read body language from a textbook. We develop it through thousands of hours of face-to-face interaction: classrooms, dinners, team meetings, handshakes in hallways. Those environments trained our brains to interpret proximity, posture, gaze, and gesture as trustworthiness, confidence, engagement, or threat.
Some of us got formal training in these skills. Etiquette programs from earlier generations, with names like "Blue Blazers" for young men and "White Gloves and Party Manners" for young women, were built around the premise that how you carry yourself communicates who you are before you say a word. The specifics have changed, but the underlying truth has not. How you present yourself communicates your intentions, your confidence, and your interest in the other person, often before you've finished your first sentence.
Body language expert Mi Ridell puts it directly: "If you want to influence people in a positive way, then your attitude and how you are perceived using non-verbal communication is very important. Often people react more to what you do than what you say, because it communicates the underlying message: what you really think and feel, and your intentions."
That principle doesn't stop at the Zoom join button.
Why the Digital Shift Changed the Rules
Since 2020, a significant portion of professional interaction has moved online. Many of those interactions happen without video at all. And when cameras are on, the signals that come through are filtered, compressed, and reframed by technology in ways that require a new kind of fluency to interpret accurately.
We tend to assume that without physical presence, non-verbal communication disappears. It doesn't. It just manifests differently. A switched-off camera is still a signal. A noisy background is still a signal. A camera angle pointing up at someone's chin is still a signal. The data flowing between participants in a virtual conversation is as rich as ever. What's changed is the format, and most professionals haven't been trained to read or send in that format.
The stakes are real. A 2022 Vyopta survey of 200 executives conducted by Wakefield Research found that 92% of managers believed that employees who turned off their cameras during meetings were less likely to have a long-term future at their company. That's not a commentary on ability or output. It's a commentary on the non-verbal signal that a blank tile sends to a room full of people trying to read the room.
What the Camera Says Before You Do
Camera setup is the single most consequential non-verbal signal in a virtual environment, and it's the one most people treat as an afterthought. Where your camera sits, how it's lit, and whether it's even on: all of these communicate something to the other people in the call before you've said a word.
Research on video communication confirms what body language practitioners have known intuitively for decades. Camera angle affects how likable and trustworthy you're perceived to be. A camera positioned below the chin forces others to look up at you, which creates a subtle dynamic of dominance or awkwardness. "We don't like them as much as if they are on the same level," Ridell notes. Eye-level placement, on the other hand, signals equality and approachability.
Distance matters too. Too far from the camera and you feel absent from the conversation. Too close and the visual intimacy crosses a threshold that reads as uncomfortable rather than engaged. The sweet spot is a frame that shows your face and upper body clearly, positioned at natural conversational distance.
Lighting, background, and audio round out the picture. A dim or backlit setup makes you harder to read emotionally, which creates cognitive friction for the people you're talking to. A cluttered or distracting background draws attention away from you. Poor audio makes every word feel like an effort, and effort erodes connection.
The Eye Contact Problem in Virtual Conversations
Eye contact is one of the most powerful non-verbal tools in any communication setting. Research consistently links it to likability, social presence, and interpersonal trust. It signals that you are present, engaged, and attending to the other person.
In a virtual conversation, making genuine eye contact requires overriding your own instincts. The natural thing to do is look at the face on the screen, which means looking at the image of the person rather than the camera. From the other person's perspective, you appear to be looking slightly downward or off to the side: a signal that reads as distraction or disengagement, even when you're fully attentive.
Creating the perception of eye contact on video requires a trained behavior: look into the camera when you're speaking. This is counterintuitive. It means you don't see the person's face while you're talking. But it sends the signal that you're looking at them, which is what the other brain is registering and responding to. It's a small behavioral shift with a disproportionate effect on how you're perceived.
The Concrete Benefits of Strong Non-Verbal Behavior
Adjusting your non-verbal signals in a virtual environment isn't about performance. It's about removing friction from the trust-building process. The brain evaluates trustworthiness continuously during any conversation, and non-verbal signals are a primary input into that evaluation. When the signals you're sending align with engagement and presence, the other person's brain registers safety and receptivity. When they don't, a low-grade threat response can set in, even if neither party is consciously aware of it.
The specific behaviors that build that trust are simpler than you might expect. Leaning slightly forward communicates interest. Visible engagement through expression, nodding, or appropriate reaction communicates that you're processing what's being said. Keeping your camera on communicates respect and a willingness to show up fully to the conversation. Using a current, clear profile photo when video is off communicates that you're present and identifiable, not hiding. Research shows that even a profile photo with an open, natural expression increases perceived trustworthiness compared to a blank tile or an abstract image.
None of these require significant time or effort. They require awareness and intention.
Small Adjustments With Large Returns
The practical changes that have the most impact on virtual non-verbal communication tend to be front-loaded, meaning you invest a few minutes of setup time before a call starts rather than trying to manage signals in real time during the meeting.
Camera height is the most common and most fixable issue. A laptop sitting flat on a desk puts the camera well below eye level. Elevating it to eye level with a stand, a stack of books, or a monitor mount changes how you're perceived immediately. It's a one-time adjustment that pays dividends on every subsequent call.
Lighting setup is the second lever. Natural light from in front of you, or an inexpensive ring light positioned at face level, removes the backlit or dim presentation problem entirely. Five minutes of setup time translates to clearer emotional readability across every meeting you take.
For asynchronous or camera-off interactions, a clear, recent, professional-looking profile photo communicates engagement and trustworthiness even when you're not present in real time. A team member who never updates their photo or leaves their profile blank is sending a non-verbal signal about how much they care about being known, even if that's not their intention.
Positive emojis and intentional reactions in group chat channels are the virtual equivalent of a nod across the table. They're small gestures that acknowledge the people around you and signal engagement. In a world where isolation can quietly set in, they matter more than they look like they should.
Building Connection in a Disconnected World
The people who struggle most in remote or hybrid environments are often those who underestimate how much of their professional reputation was built on non-verbal presence. In an office, you're constantly broadcasting engagement, confidence, and interest through how you move through the space, how you hold yourself in a meeting, how you engage with someone in the hallway. In a digital environment, those signals need to be sent deliberately, through new formats and new habits.
The people who thrive are those who adapt. They've learned to treat their camera setup the way a professional would treat their appearance before walking into a board meeting. They've trained themselves to look into the camera when they're speaking. They've built the habit of staying visible, not because they're performing, but because they understand that being perceived as present is a prerequisite for being trusted.
In a new world where workers can struggle to decode each other, and where isolation can thrive, being willing to engage non-verbally makes it easier to understand others and to be understood. The Braintrust Academy has an entire course designed to help professionals master exactly these skills. Visit braintrustacademy.com to learn more about the programs available, including courses on running successful virtual meetings and building trust across distributed teams.
If you're thinking about how to build stronger communication habits across your sales or enablement team, start a conversation with Braintrust. The signals your team is sending on every call are shaping how buyers see them. It's worth getting that right.
