The Zoom backgrounds that make you look more - or less -

trustworthy, according to experts

To inspire the most trust in those you interact with during video meetings, ensure you
have plants or books strategically positioned behind you. That’s according to new research,
which looks at how people’s choice of Zoom background could be helping or hindering them.
Researchers from the United Kingdom’s Durham University set out to see how the way we
interact online impacts �irst impressions and the judgments we form. Their �indings were
published Wednesday in the journal Plos One.
The team used 72 photos of 36 adults from a photo database – each one was pictured
with both a happy and a neutral expression. These were then superimposed on various virtual
backgrounds and framed with a Zoom border “to simulate the experience of a video conference
call.” The six backgrounds selected for the study were categorized as: home (living room),
blurred home, bookcase, plants, blank wall and novelty – in this case a walrus in front of an
iceberg.

A cohort of 167 participants, aged between 19 and 68, were then asked to complete an
online questionnaire about how trustworthy and how competent the people in each image
appeared to be. “Faces presented on the plants and bookcase background were consistently
rated as the most trustworthy and most competent, contrasting the home and novelty
backgrounds which received lower trustworthiness and competence ratings,” the authors of
the study said.
Paddy Ross, research lead and associate professor of psychology at Durham University,
told CNN Thursday that he was “surprised with how robust” the responses were. “We tested
over 160 people and we found that the background of plants and bookcases led to higher trust
and competency responses. And we found that the living room and novelty backgrounds were
the worst,” he said.
‘The new business suit’

Analyzing the �indings, he said: “I think people know that’s how other people work. Not
everyone has a home of�ice but yet there’s something that still seems a little unserious [about
a home or novelty background]. “It’s like you haven’t put any thought into how you are
presenting yourself and so this seems less competent than someone… who seems able to keep
plants alive, or someone with a bookcase who looks like they are trying to better themselves.”

Ross said that a carefully selected video call background “seems to be the new business
suit.” “Whereas for a job interview you used to have to think about what you were wearing and
how you would look,” he said, adding that the focus is now on the environment of your
backdrop. Another important factor, however, was the person’s demeanor in each shot. “We
found that generally smiling makes you look more trustworthy and competent, no matter what
the background,” he said. Overall, women inspired more trust, the study found.

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 “Female faces were also rated as more trustworthy and more competent, regardless of
the background they were using,” the researchers wrote. The team now plans to carry out
further research using actual simulated video calls, rather than still images. Ross added: “We
are creating actual recorded Zoom videos of people at the start of a job interview and what
we’re planning to do is change the background and ask people not just about �irst impressions,
but bigger decisions too. “If it makes a difference to people’s hiring decisions then we could
really help people to give themselves the best chance of getting a job.”

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 Fill in the Blank With Appropriate Meaning!

1. Regardless :
2. Further :
3. Judgments :
4. Carefully :
5. Demeanor :
6. Hindering :
7. Bookcases :
8. Superimposed :
9. Frame :
10. Questionnaire :
11. Contrast :
12. During :
13. Strategically :
14. Seems :
15. Novelty :
16. Trustworthy :
17. Simulated :
18. Hiring :
19. Presenting :
20. Robust :

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