Personally, I listen to podcasts relatively often. I usually listen to podcasts the same way I listen to music, through Spotify. Whilst researching podcasts for this week's discussion, I stumbled upon Quick Thinks: How to Shine Online and Excel at Virtual Communication. In the podcast, the host, Matt Abrahams, a teacher of strategic communication at Stanford Graduate School of Business, talks about ways in which we can improve success in our personal and professional lives when communicating online.
Engagement
In his podcast, Abraham goes on to tell his audience that it is all about maintaining engagement. To keep your audience interested, he relays, it is recommended to change activities every 15 minutes for example. He also highlights the importance of breaks, shorter meetings, and visual appeals especially as educators (Abraham, 2021). The audience will be less likely to stray from the conversation or topic being discussed if it is discussed in shorter increments. It is easier to stay interested and engages for ten minutes than it is to hear about the same boring topic for an hour and a half.
Presence
Abraham mentions that presence is also critical when communicating online, through words and nonverbal behaviors. Here he highlights some quick tips from Carol Robins, Professors Christian Wheeler and Jennifer Aaker, and lecturer Naomi Bagdonas. He quotes that we have a lot of contact but not a lot of connection and goes on to relay that laughing with someone, even if it is over zoom, can be vital to the trust between all sides of the conversation (Abraham, 2021).
Similar to Abraham, in our textbook, the author states that changes in facial expressions or gestures, for example, can influence an audience's response (Green, 2023, p. 226).
Both of these sources emphasis the importance of expression in developing trust and other responses through virtual communication.
Perception and Getting Messages Across
Abraham states that technology can make or break how we are perceived and how our messages come across. He shares some of his own tips for when you use virtual communication tools. First, he states "how you show up really matters" where he explains that lighting and overall appearance through the screen is important to conveying your presence, engagement, and perception. A few specific things he mentions are as follows:
- fill up the screen
- pay attention to your placement in the screen area
- pay attention to your lighting, would the person on the other side of the screen be able to read your expressions?
- keep your camera at eye level.
- actually, look at the camera.
- have variation in your voice, i.e., voice inflictions or emotive words.
- make gestures, but make sure they can see them and not blocking your face.
- leverage paraphrasing
(Abraham, 2021).
Comparing this to information regarding virtual communication in our textbook, the author states that you should make sure your camera is at eye level and that you actually look into your camera as it stimulates eye-contact with the audience (Green, 2023, p. 253).
Both sources mention eye-contact and more specifically keeping the camera at eye level and looking at the camera as ways to connect with the audience. This ensures that you are connected and engaged. Maintaining eye-contact shows the speaker that you are listening and their messaged is coming across.
Thanks!
Maddie
Works Cited:
Abrahams, Matt. (Host). (2021, April). Quick Thinks: How to Shine Online and Excel at Virtual Communication. In Think Fast Talk Smart. Spotify. Quick Thinks: How to Shine Online and Excel at Virtual Communication • Think Fast, Talk Smart: Communication Techniques (spotify.com)
Green, J. (2023). Communicating Online. McGraw-Hill Education.
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