The first ten seconds
Walk in (or join the call) unhurried. Smile as you greet, use the interviewer's name, and let your shoulders drop as you sit. That opening sequence - calm pace, warm greeting, settled posture - does more for the first impression than anything you'll say in the first minute.
Posture: open beats big
Sit back in the chair, spine tall but not rigid, both feet on the floor, hands visible. Avoid the two extremes: the collapsed hunch (reads as defeat) and the sprawled recline (reads as arrogance). A slight forward lean when the interviewer speaks signals engagement more reliably than nodding.
Eye contact without the stare
Aim to hold eye contact while you listen, and break it naturally while you think - glancing away to recall something is normal human behaviour, not weakness. With a panel, answer the questioner first, then include the others as your answer develops.
Hands: give them a job
Gesturing while you explain is good - it aids your own fluency and reads as conviction. Resting hands loosely on the table or your lap between gestures is the neutral home position. The credibility killers are self-soothing habits: pen-clicking, hair-touching, ring-spinning, face-touching. If you have one (most people do), rehearsal on camera is how you catch it.
Your voice is body language too
Slow down ten percent from what feels natural - nerves compress speech. End statements with a falling tone; the rising “uptalk” inflection turns your achievements into questions. And pause before answering: one breath of silence reads as thoughtfulness.
On video calls
- Camera at eye level - looking down into a laptop reads as disengaged even when you aren't.
- Look at the lens when speaking - that's how the interviewer experiences eye contact. Look at their face while they speak.
- Frame from the chest up with your face lit from the front, and keep gestures inside the frame.
- Stillness matters more on camera - chair-swivelling and screen-glancing are magnified on video.
Match the room
Subtly aligning your energy with the interviewer - their pace, their formality - builds rapport faster than any technique. Don't mimic; just don't fight the room's temperature.