In various examples, when a local user initiates an instance of a video conference application, the user may be provided with a user interface (UI) that displays an icon corresponding to the user as well as several other icons corresponding to participants in the instance of the video conference application. As the users converse, the local user may find that a particular participant is speaking loudly compared to the other remote users. The local user may then select an icon corresponding to the particular participant and move the icon away from the local user's icon in the UI. Based on moving the remote user's icon away from the local user's icon, the system may reduce the output volume of the audio data for the participant. Further, if the local user moves the participant icon closer to the local user's icon, the volume for the participant may be increased.