Vanessa Van Edwards shows how to look engaged on Zoom without speaking. Eyebrow raises, vocal affirmations like "wow", leaning toward the camera, and slow triple nods make the muted listener appear charismatic and make the speaker feel heard.
Most people when they're on mute, look super bored. Even if they're not, they're like. The way that you look at charismatic on mute is to make the listener feel like they are doing a great job. That is because when you are speaking on zoom and you're looking at the grid of faces, the speaker's eye naturally goes to the most charismatic person on mute. So here are my favorite nonverbal listening cues to make the speaker feel good and to make you look good. First, if the speaker says anything interesting at all, give them an eyebrow raise. It is a universal I'm listening, I'm interested cue you and the speaker will love it. Second, try a vocal affirmation. We love it when someone affirms us by saying, wow. Oh. Next, try a subtle lean. If the speaker says something interesting, you can lean into the camera. This shows that you like something so much, you literally want to get closer to it. Next, it is a lower lid flex. If you're on zoom and you want to show that you are deeply thinking, try this. You can always add in a slow triple nod or a head tilt. Those instantly make you look very engaged.
