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Ask HN: How do I look you in the eye while looking at you in video chat?

8 points by nscalf ↗ HN
I know it seems minor, but I think not looking at each other in in the eyes makes video calls far less impactful. I want to look at the video stream of you, but that immediately means that I don't appear to be looking at you. Are there any tools that solve this?

15 comments

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miles
See Eye 2 Eye webcam accessory https://www.pocket-lint.com/cameras/reviews/69335-see-eye2ey...

See Eye 2 Eye - webcam teleprompter & eye contact device for video chatting with computers using external webcams https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000N28MB4/

Bodelin Technologies SE2E See Eye 2 Eye - Eye Contact Device for Webcams https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/472569-REG/Bodelin_Te...

Here it is in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpFsBHusAhY

The manufacturer appears to have replaced it with this model, which is around $400 more: https://www.proprompter.com/teleprompters/proprompter-deskto...

doopy-loopy2
Hot take:

Just turn off your camera. Video meetings where you sit at your desk and stare into your screen for an hour is just stupid.

I do all my calls voice only while going for a walk or doing chores around the house.

miles
> Video meetings where you sit at your desk and stare into your screen for an hour is just stupid.

Could not agree more. Was recently asked to give a several hour presentation online to a group via video chat. Insisted on using just audio and screen sharing (so that the concepts being explained could be demonstrated). It was a far more pleasant experience without everyone having to stare awkwardly at each other.

matt_the_bass
I recently took part in a 50 person conference. The convention we used was to keep camera off unless you had something to say. Then only turn the camera on when called upon by the moderator. It worked great!
burntoutfire
> I do all my calls voice only while going for a walk or doing chores around the house.

Very popular in my job as well. People join when walking the dog, playing with their kid in the garden or even commuting (some can give in-depth updates while merging on a busy freeway).

kugelblitz
I have the webcam on top of my desktop monitor, when I videoconference, I slide the whole monitor lower so that the camera is just above height of my eyes and I put the chat screen on the top of the screen, so the talker on the screen and the webcam are just a few cms / inches apart. I sit about an arm's length away from the webcam.

It's not perfect, but it's adjustable within 3 seconds and is very close to directly looking into the camera.

tomcam
I just look into the camera. It takes a little discipline but not much.

But note that EVERYONE prefers to look at themselves onscreen (well, not me... but if you saw me you'd understand why) and therefore they don't really care if you're doing the same thing.

dave_sid
It’s not really important. You really need to focus more on what you and the other person are actually doing on the call. Seriously.
dave_sid
Lol, it does seem a little minor. Imagine trying to communicate/coordinate during a naval battle using morse code in the Second World War.
quickthrower2
I don’t even look in the eye face to face unless trying to do so. If talking technical I need to look at the ceiling to think.
potta_coffee
Socially awkward coder here, I prefer not to have eye contact most of the time.
sergiotapia
Move the video preview top of the screen, center screen. As close to the cam as possible.
cyberdrunk
We actually don't do video calls (just audio) in our company and I think it's a blessing. The video input is frankly just distracting and this way we can better focus on what each other is saying.

Video may be more important for non-technical discussions, where reading non-verbal cues can be important (however I'm not sure how well they can be read from a laggy video feed).