Science says that when people form first impressions, they tend to be cautious—even negative—because humans are wired to assess new situations and threats carefully. Trying to make a positive first impression in a virtual setting is an even greater challenge.
Carmen Simon, a cognitive neuroscientist, offers these tips for striking a positive first impression, virtually:
- Stand up. It allows others to “size you up” more accurately and allows you to move your body and hands freely for better non-verbal communication.
- Choose your virtual background carefully. Studies show that using your real background is effective in building trust and message retention. And using a blurred background can be an effective way to hold your audience’s attention. Using a fake background, however, led to poor results in terms of audience impression and memory.
This advice reminds us of these other previous tips for effective virtual presentations:
6 Principles for Delivering Great Virtual Presentations
4 Tips for Virtual Meetings: how not to exhaust your introverts or Zoom-fatigued
What tips do you have that have worked for you?
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Penny Schnarrs she/her
Director of Community Relations and Strategy
Association of American Medical Colleges
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