Sometimes the Camera Gets in the Way :: A Case for Rethinking “Camera on” in Coaching

By Kelly Caldwell

In most professional settings, “camera on” has become the default. Back in the days when virtual work was new, that norm made sense. It was shorthand for being present, engaged, and professional. But coaching isn’t just another meeting. And “camera on” doesn’t always serve the kind of thinking that coaching is designed to support.

Camera-off coaching sessions are something we encourage our clients to try. Here’s why.

Coaching Asks Something Different of Your Brain

Lawyers are trained to perform. Whether you’re in a client meeting, a team conference, or a courtroom, your brain is doing exactly what it should be doing: reading the room, managing impressions, and formulating thoughts on the fly. That’s performance mode — and it’s a mode lawyers are very good at.

But coaching is different. It requires reflection, honest self-assessment, and the willingness to sit with uncertainty long enough to gain clarity. That’s internal work — and it pulls in the opposite direction from performance mode.

Here’s the problem: when the camera is on, part of your brain is always managing how you’re coming across. Researchers call this social evaluative processing — your brain’s instinct to monitor your own presentation. It’s not a character flaw – and, for lawyers, it’s practically a professional reflex. Still, it consumes cognitive resources that could otherwise go toward the deeper thinking that coaching is designed to support.

What Changes When the Camera Goes Off

When you remove the visual layer, a few things tend to happen:

•    Cognitive load drops. Fewer inputs mean your brain isn’t spending energy filtering expressions, tracking body language, or calibrating its own presentation.

•    Internal focus increases. You can more easily turn inward — which is where the best coaching work happens.

•    Silence becomes less loaded. On camera, a pause can feel like dead air. Off camera, a pause is just thinking — which is exactly what it should be.

•    Better conditions for insights. Pattern recognition, honest self-reflection, and clear decision-making all get a little easier when the brain isn’t simultaneously managing how it looks.

Why this is Especially Relevant for Lawyers

Legal work requires a particular kind of mental agility — and it also places extraordinary demands on your cognitive bandwidth. You’re routinely managing complex information under pressure, often while also managing relationships, firm politics, risk, and more. That’s a heavy cognitive load before the coaching session even starts.

Adding the social evaluative demands of being on camera on top of that is like placing a tax on the mental resources you need most. Turning the camera off removes one layer of that cognitive load and space frees up for the kind of candid, reflective thinking that tends to produce real insight.

There’s also this: lawyers are often very good at sounding certain, composed, and in-control — even when they’re not. The camera can reinforce that habit, but coaching works better when you’re not performing, even unconsciously. Turning the camera off might just lead to a more honest conversation — and that’s where the most useful coaching work tends to happen.

A Note on Neurodiversity

Reduction in cognitive load matters for anyone, but it matters particularly for those of us who are neurodivergent thinkers. For people with ADHD, autism, anxiety, or sensory processing differences, being on camera can significantly increase cognitive and sensory demand. The visual noise, the eye contact expectations, the pressure to look “appropriately engaged” — it all adds up quickly.

In that context, turning the camera off isn’t just a preference — it’s an accommodation that makes the coaching work as intended. Honestly, I’ve found that many of the strategies and working conditions that help neurodivergent thinkers do their best work also tend to benefit just about anyone. Removing a point of friction from a thinking process isn’t a concession. It’s good coaching.

Presence Isn’t a Visual Cue

There’s an understandable concern that if someone isn’t on camera, they’re not really “there.” In a meeting context, I think that’s a reasonable worry. But presence in coaching shows up differently.

It shows up in listening closely, building on what’s been said, and sitting with hard questions – rather than deflecting them. It shows up in what you do after the session — you’re clarity when thinking, what you act on, whether the work is landing, and so forth. Engagement isn’t a facial expression; it’s a quality of attention — and that quality can be just as high, and often higher, when the camera is off.

Of course, none of this means cameras are bad or that every session should be audio-only. There are moments where being visible to each other genuinely matters. But I invite you to experiment!