This is such a good reminder and so true! As someone who uses Zoom (and has for years before the pandemic) for 90%+ of my business-client interactions, I've mastered the art of giving more value in the screen-share (so my camera is auto turned off). It's actually really important if we're discussing something technical or I'm teaching/giving a tutorial.

However, I do have those other calls where it's a potential business partnership or a "get to know you" type of thing. Everybody feels the need to be on camera, face-to-face on those. I don't think it's necessary - in terms of business and sales, I do infinitely more sales via words (like an email or sales page) than a face-to-face interaction, but I can still see how video can increase the level of comfort and "realness" with the other person.

"Video on" is not my favorite, since it requires getting presentable (which doesn't actually improve the ROI on my work...), but this article at least makes me feel like more people have those video insecurities than just me. Thanks for the reminder!