How to make eye contact on video calls
To make eye contact on a video call, look at the camera lens while you speak, not at the other person's face on screen. Raise the camera to eye level, move the call window (and any notes) right under the lens, and look back at faces while you listen.
That's the whole trick. The rest of this guide is about making it easy: where to put the camera, what to do with your notes, what to do if your webcam is in an awkward place, and which "AI eye contact" tools actually exist on which computers.
Why you look like you're looking away
On a video call, the camera and the faces are in different places. The webcam sits above the screen; the faces sit in the middle of it. When you look at someone's face, the camera sees you looking below it, so on their screen you seem to be looking at their chin, your keyboard or your notes.
The bigger the gap between the lens and where your eyes rest, the more obvious it is. A rough sense of scale: sitting about 60 cm (2 ft) from a laptop, looking at a point 10 cm below the camera turns your gaze about 10 degrees down. Move that point up to 2 cm under the lens, and the angle shrinks to about 2 degrees, which reads as eye contact.
1. Look at the lens when you talk, at faces when you listen
You don't need to stare into the camera for the whole call. A common rule of thumb from speaking coaches is to look at the lens while you are speaking, and at people's faces while you are listening, so you can still read their reactions. Make a point of looking at the lens for the moments that count: your introduction, your key point, the answer to a question, and when you ask for something.
A small sticker or arrow next to the webcam is a surprisingly good reminder for the first few calls.
2. Put the camera at eye level
A laptop on a desk films you from below, so you look down into it. Raise it on a stand or a stack of books until the camera is level with your eyes, and sit an arm's length away. With an external webcam, clip it to the top of the screen you actually look at, not a second monitor off to the side.
3. Move the call window right under the camera
- Shrink the meeting window and drag it to the top-centre of the screen, directly under the webcam.
- In gallery view, put the person you're talking to at the top; in speaker view, their face is often already near the top.
- Hide self-view (Zoom, Teams and Meet all offer it). Watching yourself pulls your eyes away from the lens.
4. Keep your notes next to the lens, not below the call
The main reason people look down on calls isn't the camera at all: it's their notes. Notes in a document at the bottom of the screen, or on paper on the desk, pull your eyes far from the lens every time you check them.
Instead, put your notes in a narrow strip directly under the webcam:
- Keep lines short (a narrow column) so your eyes don't sweep left and right.
- Use large text so you can read it at a glance.
- Keep the line you're reading at the top of the strip, as close to the camera as possible.
That last point is what a teleprompter does. Our free online teleprompter follows your voice, so the line you're on stays near the top without you scrolling. Set it to a narrow text width and place the browser window under your camera; theZoom, Meet and Teams setup guide walks through it step by step.
One limit to know: a browser window can't stay on top of a full-screen meeting. That's why we're building SocialAI Prompter for Mac, a see-through, click-through strip that sits under the webcam on top of the call. It's in a private beta, with testers invited from a waitlist.
5. If your webcam is at the bottom of the screen
Some laptops and many external monitors put the camera below the screen, which films up your nose and makes every glance at the screen look like you're looking over the viewer's head.
- Best fix: an external webcam clipped to the top of the screen. It fixes the angle completely.
- No external webcam? Tilt the screen back and raise the laptop so the camera is as close to eye level as you can get.
- Move the call window and your notes to the bottom-centre of the screen, just above the camera, so your eyes rest near it.
6. AI eye contact correction: what exists in 2026
Some software can edit your eyes in real time so you appear to look at the camera. It's useful, but it only exists on certain hardware. Here is what we could confirm on each vendor's own pages (checked 2 October 2026):
| Option | Works on | Requirements (vendor's own wording) |
|---|---|---|
| Windows Studio Effects: Eye contact | Windows PCs with an NPU | Standard mode: Copilot+ PCs and some PCs with smaller NPUs. "Teleprompter" mode, for reading on screen: Snapdragon Copilot+ PCs only. |
| NVIDIA Broadcast: Eye Contact | Windows PCs with an NVIDIA RTX graphics card | GeForce RTX 2060, Quadro RTX 3000, TITAN RTX or higher; Windows 64-bit. Works in other apps through its virtual camera. |
| FaceTime: Eye Contact | iPhone (FaceTime) | A setting in FaceTime on iPhone. Not available on Mac. |
| Mac video effects | Mac | No gaze correction. Apple lists Center Stage, Portrait, Studio Light, Presenter Overlay, Desk View and others. |
| Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet | All | No built-in eye contact feature found in their own settings. On Windows, the camera-level effects above apply inside these apps. |
Two honest caveats. Gaze correction can look slightly uncanny when you turn your head or glance far away, and it doesn't fix the underlying habit: if you're reading notes at the bottom of the screen, you'll still sound like you're reading.
7. Hardware, if you record or present a lot
- Webcam mounts that hang in front of the screen put the lens in the middle of the call, between the faces.
- Beam-splitter teleprompters reflect your script onto glass in front of the lens, so you read straight into the camera. They're the most precise option, and the most hassle for everyday calls (how a teleprompter works).
For most meetings and interviews, camera height plus notes under the lens gets you most of the way for free.
Eye contact in a video interview
Interviews are where this matters most, and where notes are most tempting. Keep a few bullet points (your stories, your numbers, your questions for them) in a short strip under the camera, rather than a full script. Look at the lens when you start an answer and when you land the result, and at the interviewer while they ask the question. If you do read a prepared line, such as your introduction, a teleprompter that follows your voice keeps your place if you pause or go off-script.
Check yourself in 30 seconds
Record a short clip of yourself talking with your usual setup, then watch it back with the sound off. Our online teleprompter has a ● Rec button that records from your webcam while the script scrolls. The video stays on your device and has no watermark. Try it once with your notes in their usual place, and once with them under the camera; the difference is usually obvious.
While you're there, check your pace: people who read tend to speed up. The speaking speed test shows your words per minute.
Frequently asked questions
Should I look at the camera or the screen on a video call?
Look at the camera while you speak, so the other person sees you looking at them. Look at the screen while you listen, so you can read their reactions. Switching between the two is normal and looks natural.
Why does it look like I am looking down on Zoom?
Your webcam sits above the screen, but the faces you're looking at are lower down. On camera, looking at a face just below the lens reads as looking down. Moving the call window right under the camera, and raising the camera to eye level, shrinks the gap.
How can I read notes on a video call and still keep eye contact?
Put your notes in a narrow strip directly under the webcam, as close to the lens as possible, and keep each line short. A teleprompter that follows your voice keeps the line you are reading at the top of the strip, next to the camera.
Does Zoom have eye contact correction?
We could not find an eye contact feature in Zoom's own settings or documentation (checked October 2026). On some Windows PCs, Windows Studio Effects or NVIDIA Broadcast correct your gaze at the camera level, and that correction shows up in Zoom, Teams and Meet.
Do Macs have eye contact correction?
No. Apple's list of Mac video effects (Center Stage, Portrait, Studio Light, Presenter Overlay and others) has no gaze correction (checked October 2026). FaceTime's Eye Contact setting is on iPhone. On a Mac, camera placement and notes under the lens are the practical fixes.
Will people know I am reading?
Less than you'd think, if the text is right under the camera and the lines are short. What gives readers away is eyes sweeping across long lines, or a flat voice. Use a narrow column, write the way you talk, and rehearse once out loud.
Is it rude to not look at the camera on a video call?
No. Nobody expects constant eye contact, on video or in person. Look at the lens for the moments that matter: your introduction, key points, the answer to a question, and when you ask for something.