While companies have come a long way in just a few weeks with video meetings, we all have much to learn about how to make video conferences more engaging and productive – and far less taxing for employees.
To help you on that path, we’ve compiled a quick list of the 11 most important tips and tricks to keep top of mind, compiled from our recent experience with clients and our decades conducting meetings of all types for leaders and teams.
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As many of us are spending our days in virtual meetings, we’re realizing the energy drain from staring directly at our colleagues in two dimensions from just a few feet away. That typically wouldn’t be the case in face-to-face meetings where you naturally and easily follow the conversation much like you were watching a sing-along. The conversation is a little like a bouncing ball where you naturally move your head and attention to keep up with the dialogue. There are breaks – both literally and figuratively – in the conversation, which allow for a little recharge of the batteries or at least a few moments to take a breath, reflect, and regroup.
Read MoreTags: Face-to-Face Communication, Internal Communication, COVID-19 Communications
If the annual performance review is a check-off-the-box activity, you’re missing a key opportunity to engage and motivate your employees.
I was talking with a client recently who was planning for her face-to-face performance review meetings with her staff. With forms completed, she acknowledged she didn’t want to simply review the content of the forms.
Instead, her intention was to have the most productive and positive dialogue possible.
Achieving trust, credibility and especially engagement is the ultimate prize for employers, now more than ever. Communications and communicators play a key role in the engagement process. Great communication can engage employees if it cuts through the clutter to speak directly to them, and no one is better positioned than communicators to know how to connect effectively with employees.
First, employers and communicators must recognize that employee engagement is a two-way street, and furthermore that engagement is a gift an employee gives to an organization—that can be freely given or withheld at any time. It is up to these leaders to accept responsibility for (as they will reap the benefits of) making it that way.
We all know how technology enables communication – email, voicemail, text message, instant message, Twitter . . . the list goes on. There are more than enough ways to communicate, and too often they add up to message overload for employees.
That’s why when something is important, nothing compares to face-to-face communication. When a leader needs to inspire people—or move them to action—the best way to do it is to look people in the eye and tell them exactly what they need to know.
Read MoreTags: Leadership Communication, Face-to-Face Communication, Communication Skills, Feedback/Trust
Perhaps you’ve heard the quote “There’s a difference between listening and waiting for your turn to speak.” The concept might seem simple, but active listening – that is, fully concentrating on what’s being said – takes work and practice. And the results can make a significant difference in the quality of relationships, followership and overall results.
Read MoreTags: Face-to-Face Communication, Communication Skills, Listening
I was talking with a client recently about how you know you’re getting your message across in a one-on-one situation, especially when you have a good amount of material to present.
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Over the past few weekends, tens of thousands of college graduates have walked across the stage, shaken hands with the Dean, waved to teary-eyed parents and left college – diplomas in hand – ready to change the world.
I’ve received a number of excellent questions recently about my thoughts on social media and its impact on internal communications and business. Some people have misunderstood why I call myself the “anti-social media guy” on the inside. Let me clarify, and I’d appreciate your feedback.
