0578 – How ‘Zoom Dysmorphia’ Affects Your Video-Call Voice

2022.08.01– 0578 – How ‘Zoom Dysmorphia’ Affects Your Video-Call Voice

How ‘Zoom Dysmorphia’ Affects Your Video-Call Voice [1]

Seeing ourselves (and others) on screen can cause micro-stresses, and so, tension in our frame, shallower breathing and a potentially lighter voice.

·        What we think of our face, hair, clothes and voice, room background (and so on)

·        What we think others may think of our face, hair, clothes and voice, room background (!)

·        And what we think of their face, hair, clothes and voice, room background

People see us in our own space: our room, how we dress, whether are shaved and so on.

The confidence-sapping tension can be compounded by our old friend, the broken feedback loop. In ‘real life’ we can clearly see our colleagues’ nods, eye contact and so on which constantly tell us that what we are saying is being understood, or not. Such feedback gives us confidence or tells us to adjust our style – gestures, volume, tone, pace, duration – to regain their engagement them.

But with video appearances the feedback is disrupted or broken completely and the incongruity of being seen and seeing yourself on a monitor; of talking to hundreds or thousands of people at once – and only seeing some of them, and but using a quieter voice than if they were actually with you; of trying to be business-like but sitting in your home… and dealing with the tech, you’re not in a meeting room with a notepad (“Will I be able to bring up the right caption, can I get the PowerPoint on screen, will a child scream or a dog bark or another call come in…?”) It’s just not natural!

The incongruity causes stress, affecting our voice.

But then neither is the whole tech and protocol of video-conferencing as we will hear tomorrow:

[1] Spending increased time in video meetings during the pandemic has created a new phenomenon being called ‘Zoom dysmorphia’, insecurity about how we see ourselves. Doctors have reportedly noticed a rise in cosmetic surgery requests as people are forced to spend more time on camera. (NBC, January, 2021) https://www.today.com/video/what-is-zoom-dysmorphia-insecurity-rises-due-to-video-calls-99327045790

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