Virtual communication: how to avoid misunderstandings
Instead of acting on your assumptions, go to the facts. Understanding the individual styles of employees can also give interactions more context and help avoid misunderstandings.
- Prioristizers are logical, analytical, and data-oriented people who focus on goals and outcomes. They don't like to engage in chitchat.
- Planners thrive with structure, planning, and talking about the details. They often communicate in bullet points and numbers.
- Arrangers are supportive, relationship-driven team members who work best when they form connections.
- Visualizers are big-picture thinkers who want minimal details. They will often email at the last minute, and apologize for short deadlines.
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Virtual communication often lacks the nonverbal clues we notice with in-person conversations.
To compensate, we often make assumptions or jump to conclusions that can cause harm to our work relationships.
To avoid unnecessary conflict, it is essential to understand the nuances of colleagues and how they work.
Accept that others may not work and communicate the same way you do. If you see someone looking to the side during a video conference, instead of thinking they are not paying attention, understand that they may really be taking notes. Another person may want to spend time on a connection before they engage with the content.
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Reaching out privately to a colleague can feel weird because making the active decision to initiate a conversation usually creates the expectation that you want something.
So explain why you're reaching out. Always give a reason why you want to talk to someone. Also, send one message, then wait for a response. And if someone continually doesn't respond when you reach out, take the hint.
Bonding with colleagues in the real world is easy. It the virtual world, the tools we have available are video conferences, group messages, and email - all cold forms of communication.
Despite the challenges associated with online tool, there are simple rules we can use the make colleagues and clients like us.
To better build rapport and counter isolation do the following:
- smile, tilt your chin lower so you're not looking down on them, and slow down your speech during your video calls, so you come across as being more credible.
- set a finish time before starting a conversation with someone new to reduce the initial wariness.
- Be more likable and validate others by listening to them and suspending your ego. Put aside your wish to contribute to the conversation and ask short, open questions like how, when, and why.
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