# Video call etiquette: courteous Zoom, Teams and Meet meetings

> Video call etiquette for work and personal calls: camera on or off, muting, backgrounds, eating, chat, recording consent and easing video-call fatigue.

URL: https://courteo.us/video-call-etiquette/
Published: 2026-10-20
Updated: 2026-10-20
Author: The Courteous Editors
Topic: Work & Digital Life

Video calls went from novelty to daily routine in a matter of weeks in 2020, and they never went away. Microsoft found that [time spent in Teams meetings rose 2.5 times worldwide between February 2020 and February 2021](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/worklab/work-trend-index/hybrid-work), and the average meeting grew from 35 to 45 minutes. With that much time on camera, courtesy is mostly about reducing friction: the frozen screen, the barking dog, the meeting that runs over.

Video calls also take a particular kind of energy. Stanford communication professor Jeremy Bailenson has argued that “Zoom fatigue” has [four likely causes: excessive close-up eye contact, the extra mental effort of sending and reading nonverbal cues, constantly seeing your own face, and being physically stuck in one spot](https://vhil.stanford.edu/publications/social-interaction/nonverbal-overload-theoretical-argument-causes-zoom-fatigue). Several good video-call manners exist precisely to ease those strains.

- **2.5×** increase in time spent in Teams meetings, Feb 2020 to Feb 2021 [Microsoft, 2021](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/worklab/work-trend-index/hybrid-work)
- **45 min** average meeting length, up from 35 minutes [Microsoft, 2021](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/worklab/work-trend-index/hybrid-work)
- **+16%** year-over-year rise in meetings starting after 8 p.m. [Microsoft, 2025](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/worklab/work-trend-index/breaking-down-infinite-workday)

## Before the call

- **Test your setup** — camera, microphone, and the link — a few minutes early, especially for interviews or client calls.
- **Light your face from the front.** A window behind you turns you into a silhouette.
- **Put the camera at eye level** so people aren’t looking up your nose.
- **Close unrelated tabs and turn off notifications**, especially if you’ll share your screen.
- **Use headphones** if you’re in a shared space, to prevent echo and protect others’ privacy.
- **Tell your household** you’ll be on a call.

## Camera on or off?

There is no universal rule, and insisting on cameras all the time contributes to fatigue. Reasonable defaults:

| Meeting | Camera | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Job interview | On | Treat it as an in-person interview. |
| First meeting with a client or new colleague | On | Faces build trust quickly. |
| Small team meeting (2–6 people) | On, by default | Off briefly is fine with a short note. |
| Large all-hands or webinar | Optional | Off is normal unless you’re speaking. |
| Long working session | Team’s choice | Agree on camera breaks. |
| Personal call with friends or family | Whatever you agree | Ask if it’s a good time for video. |

Camera defaults by meeting type

If you lead meetings, make “camera optional” explicit for long or recurring sessions. Hiding self-view, an option in most platforms, removes the mirror effect Bailenson describes without anyone else noticing.

## During the call

### Do

- Join on time; a minute early for small meetings
- Mute when you’re not speaking in larger groups
- Use the “raise hand” feature to ask to speak
- Look at the camera when making a key point
- Say your name before speaking on audio-only calls
- Use the chat for links and short questions

### Don’t

- Type loudly or eat on an open mic
- Have side conversations off-mic while visible
- Walk around with a phone camera bouncing
- Take a call from the car while driving
- Answer email visibly while someone is presenting
- Share your whole screen when one window will do

### Talking over each other

Audio lag makes interruptions more common on video. Leave a short pause before you speak, and if two people start at once, the quick fix is “Go ahead” — then actually let them. Hosts can call on people by name to make sure quieter participants get heard.

### Backgrounds

A tidy, neutral background is best for work. Virtual or blurred backgrounds are perfectly polite and protect your privacy; just choose something that isn’t distracting. Novelty backgrounds suit social calls better than client meetings.

## Hosting a good video meeting

- **Share the agenda in the invite** and the goal in the first minute.
- **Shorten defaults** — 25 or 50 minutes instead of 30 or 60 gives everyone a break between calls.
- **Admit people from the waiting room promptly.**
- **Watch the chat** or assign someone to, so remote questions aren’t lost.
- **In hybrid meetings, include remote people first** — ask them for input before the room, and repeat what’s said away from the microphone.
- **Respect time zones** and rotate early or late slots; meetings after hours are already climbing.
- **Send notes and actions afterward** for everyone, including those who couldn’t attend.

## Recording and privacy

Always tell participants before you record, and use the platform’s built-in recording notice. In some jurisdictions everyone on a call must consent to recording. The same goes for AI note-takers and transcription bots: announce them, and remove them if someone objects. Don’t screenshot participants and post the image without permission.

> **Announcing a recording**

> Before we start, is everyone comfortable with me recording this so Sam can catch up later? I’ll share it only with the team and delete it after a month.

## Leaving gracefully

If you need to drop early, say so at the start: “I have a hard stop at 2:45.” When you leave, a brief “Thanks, everyone — I have to jump off” in chat or out loud is enough. At the end of a call, the host should close the meeting rather than leaving people to wonder who should hang up first.

> **Rescheduling at short notice**

> Hi Noor, I’m so sorry — something urgent has come up and I need to move our 3 p.m. Could we do tomorrow at 10 or 2 instead?

> **Fewer, better calls**

> The most courteous video meeting is often the one you don’t schedule. If a written update would do, send that instead. For everything else on the job, see our [workplace etiquette guide](https://courteo.us/workplace-etiquette/).

## Frequently asked questions

**Is it rude to turn my camera off on a video call?**
Not necessarily. For large meetings and webinars, camera-off is common. For small meetings, interviews and first meetings, camera-on is the courteous default. If you need to turn it off, a quick note in chat ("camera off for a few minutes, still listening") is enough.

**Should I mute when I'm not speaking?**
Yes in groups larger than three or four people, or anytime you're in a noisy place. In a small, quiet conversation, staying unmuted can make talk flow more naturally.

**Can I record a video call?**
Only with everyone's knowledge, and in some places consent is legally required. Announce it at the start and use the platform's recording notice.

**Is it OK to eat on a video call?**
Avoid it in formal or external meetings. In casual internal calls, turn the camera off and mute while you eat, or say you're having lunch if it's a lunch-hour call.

## Sources

- [Stanford Virtual Human Interaction Lab — Bailenson, Nonverbal Overload: A Theoretical Argument for the Causes of Zoom Fatigue (2021)](https://vhil.stanford.edu/publications/social-interaction/nonverbal-overload-theoretical-argument-causes-zoom-fatigue)
- [Microsoft WorkLab — The next great disruption is hybrid work (Work Trend Index 2021)](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/worklab/work-trend-index/hybrid-work)
- [Microsoft WorkLab — Breaking down the infinite workday (June 2025)](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/worklab/work-trend-index/breaking-down-infinite-workday)

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