Good points. I find myself wondering whether everyone was equally affected. I don't always stare at the screen during video calls. I do when I'm trying to communicate, but when I'm thinking I do what I do in person - I stare off into space. I think this is fairly common. Looking at a person's face, you are getting all kinds of information, even when they aren't speaking. When people are concentrating, I think they often look at their notes, at the ceiling, out the window. The problem may simply be that some people don't understand that's ok in a videoconference format.