A new study by psychologists at the University of Durham has found the answers to creating the best first impression in a virtual meeting, such as Teams or Zoom, is a visual background of house plants and books.
In this latest research - Virtual first impressions: Zoom backgrounds affect judgements of trust and competence - Associate Professor Paddy Ross and colleagues from the Department of Psychology, investigated what is really contributing to best, and worst, first impressions in a virtual environment.
The study assessed the views of more than 160 individuals, who were asked to evaluate a selection of images of people against a variety of virtual backgrounds and with a mix of neutral and happy facial expressions. The research found a background of books and/or plants significantly contributed towards creating a trusting and competent first impression.
On the other hand, comedic or living room backgrounds consistently scored the lowest.
The study also discovered that gender is having an impact, with women consistently appearing more trustworthy and competent than men regardless of the kind of virtual background. Additionally, a smiley, happy demeanour was found to be an extra ingredient that can help towards creating a trusting and competent impression.
Image courtesy Oeco Garden Rooms
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