> Expecting me to spruce up beyond what I would ordinarily look like in person is just ludicrous I don't think the point is mainly about sprucing up beyond wha

> Expecting me to spruce up beyond what I would ordinarily look like in person is just ludicrous I don't think the point is mainly about sprucing up beyond what you ordinarily look like. Aside from what others have said, one thing to consider is how the eyes and ears work in person vs via screen + webcam / mic + speakers. Differences between a human eye and a webcam make it so that when you look at someone in person, even in shitty unflattering light and in a cluttered environment, you'll mostly see that person as they "normally" look. But stick a webcam and a screen in between, and all bets are off. Especially if you're going to use high contrast (think dark skin + white shirt or the reverse, with a strong backlight for bonus points). Same for listening. You can usually hear people when you're talking to them and there's noise around if you focus a bit. But put a crappy laptop mic and speakers in between, and good luck understanding anything they say. I don't often use my webcam and tend to turn off incoming video because I don't enjoy teams melting my laptop. But it's an atrocious, infuriating experience trying to talk to someone when I can barely hear their voice and instead am able to follow what their colleagues are saying or counting how many cars go past their window. Taking a little care to be understandable doesn't mean you're expected to be some world-class speaker.