How to stop touching your face on video calls.

By the Ace Coach team, built with the best speech coaches · Updated October 28, 2026 · How we write

Everyone does it, more than they think

Face touching is mostly automatic. When researchers videotaped 26 medical students during lectures, each one touched their face 23 times an hour on average, about half of those touches on the mouth, nose or eyes (Kwok and colleagues, *American Journal of Infection Control*, 2015). Nobody in the room was trying to do it.

On a video call it's more visible than in person. The frame is your head and shoulders, so a hand rubbing your chin or pushing back your hair fills a large part of the picture. It also tends to happen at the worst moments: when you're thinking about a hard question or unsure of your answer, which is exactly when the other person is watching most closely.

Step 1: find out when you do it

You can't stop a habit you don't notice. Record yourself answering three questions you find a bit hard, for about a minute each. Watch it back with the sound off and note every time a hand reaches your face, and what you were doing at that moment. Most people find a pattern: the start of an answer, a question they didn't expect, or a pause while searching for a word.

Step 2: give your hands a home

• Rest them below the frame. Hands loosely together on the desk or in your lap, just out of shot. That's the default position to return to.
• Hold something neutral. A pen is fine for notes. Put it down if you start clicking or chewing it.
• Move your hair out of the way first. If your hair falls in your face, tie it back or clip it before the call so your hands have no reason to go there.
• Lower the triggers. Glasses that slip, an itchy collar or dry lips are all invitations. Sort them out before you press join.

Step 3: use your hands for something better

Holding your hands still for a whole call is hard, and it can make you stiff. A better replacement is gesturing with your words: hands up into the lower part of the frame, moving as you explain. Hands that are busy explaining don't wander to your face. The hand gestures guide covers how.

Three drills

1. Hands home. Answer a question with your hands resting below the frame the whole time. Don't touch your face or hair. Repeat until the urge fades.
2. Spot the touches. Watch a recording of yourself and tap each time your hand reaches your face, as soon as it happens. Spotting it on video trains you to feel it live.
3. One hand per point. Give an answer with two or three points, and move a hand for each one. Your hands stay in use, and away from your face.

Ace Coach can count them for you. With the camera on, it tracks every practice call and shows each moment a hand went to your face, alongside where you looked and how steady your head stayed.