Digitalks #06. Effective Communication for Remote Working
When face-to-face interactions with colleagues are limited, it’s important to bring everyone together
Digitalks is a virtual brown bag lunch meeting by Breadnbeyond’s Digital Marketing team where all valuable information, feedback, ideas, seminars, and training sessions are shared.
With an uprise in remote working, communicating has quickly become a highly desirable skill.
Once we eradicate so many non-verbal cues, the nuances of communication can feel all that much harder to grasp.
It leaves us scrambling to get all those team projects to the same levels of effectiveness as in an in-person setting.
86% of employees and corporate executives attribute it to ineffective
As a communication lecturer at UPN Veteran Surabaya and founder of Bitjara, Dian shared some actionable practices on how to bring your remote communication A-game.
What Exactly Is An Effective Communication?
Communication is any transfer of information between two or more individuals.
This can be done verbally, through writing, non-verbal cues, or any other method.
Communication is often broken down into two different types: verbal communication and non-verbal communication.
Verbal communication includes things like talking, emails, and phone calls.
Non-verbal communication includes things like body language, hand gestures, and facial expressions.
Why Communication Plays a Crucial Role in Remote Working
Remote working allows you to attract top-notch talent from anywhere in the world.
It also allows you to hire people who may not be able to work in an office setting due to health, family, or other reasons.
Communication is especially important in remote work as it becomes even more difficult to convey information and feelings.
Employees in an office setting have the ability to speak with one another through proximity.
Remote workers, on the other hand, must use technology like emails, video calls, or phones to communicate their thoughts and ideas.
Remote workers must be especially conscious of the way they convey their thoughts and feelings as they have fewer options to express their feelings than their office counterparts.
The Effective Communication Kit
Words
Be it text, voice, or video calls — the communication process includes the exchange of words.
When you exchange words, you hope to get a particular reaction from the other person.
So, to get the response you want, it is important that you use the right words.
Voices
Voice communication like voice calling, conferencing, or podcasting is a great way to connect with your team members in a remote setting.
Voice communication is more personal than written communication.
That’s because people rely more on their feelings and emotions when they are talking than when they are writing. And feelings and emotions are what makes communication effective.
Visuals
Sharing visual content like images, videos, presentations, or drawings with your team is a great way to enhance the effectiveness of communication.
Visual communication is more appealing and effective than verbal communication as it can even describe complex things that hard be described with words or audio alone.
Remote Working Communication Tips
Let’s get cracking down on how exactly you can bring your remote communication to the next level.
Be present
Be present in your communication by being attentive and focused.
When you are on a video call with your colleagues, make sure that you are not doing other things at the same time
Identify your communication goals
Before you communicate with your team members, make sure that you have a clear idea of what you want to achieve from the communication.
This will help you in deciding the best way to communicate your ideas.
Control your emotions
Emotions are a great thing when they are positive.
But when they are negative, they create a barrier between you and your team members.
Therefore, it is important that you control your emotions while communicating with your team members.
Be specific
When you communicate with your team members, be specific about the things that you want to convey.
This will help your team members understand your ideas better.
Stay focused
While communicating with your team members, make sure that you stay focused on the discussion.
This will help you in achieving your communication goals.
Be genuine
While communicating with your team members, make sure that you are genuine in what you say and do.
This is a great way to build a healthy relationship with your team members.
Remote Working Communication: What’s Not to Do
Along with those practices mentioned above, here are what to avoid.
Avoid overusing emails
While emailing is one of the most effective ways of communication, there is a thin line between being effective and abusing this medium.
This is especially true if you and your team members work remotely.
If you find yourself emailing too often and too long, you have to reign in your usage.
Avoid being too formal
While being formal during communication is expected and appreciated, going overboard with it is not.
If you find yourself being too formal in your communication or using big words, especially in a remote setting with your team members, it can be quite unhelpful for others.
Avoid using vague language
Using vague or ambiguous language in your communication can be confusing and annoying for your team members.
Therefore, when you communicate with your team members, make sure that you use clear language and communicate your specific purpose.
Effective communication allows the remote team to make better, data-based decisions even when they're miles away from each other.
It can also drive engagement, a sense of trust, and even respect for the organization’s values.
Related Articles:
Breadnbeyond has useful resources that can help you hone your social media marketing skills. You can subscribe here to get free e-books!
