Why effective communication is needed?
COVID-19 has created a situation in our society where we are forced to work at home.
Without being able to meet face-to-face, a sought-after alternative that people turn to is video conferencing.
We’ve now known a lot of video conferencing apps, you name it: Zoom, Google Meet, Bluejeans, Microsoft Teams, etc.
Zoom especially is one app that sees a significant rise in usage ever since Covid-19 hits us. It was downloaded 485 million times on mobile devices in 2020 and even saw a rise of 400% in earnings in 2021.
You probably rarely do video conferencing before and think that it’s no big deal. It’s just like having a normal video call, right?
But you have to remember that you are in a professional setting.
You can’t simply talk or act to your colleagues the same way as your close friends and families.
You’ll be surprised to know that there are details that you need to pay attention to when you do video conferencing on Zoom.
These details can send an impression that you’re a great speaker at the meeting and creates effective communication as well.
Effective communication in the workplace can result in increase productivity by 20% to 25%.
Effective communication leads to better performance and trust for the employees.
While poor communication results in employees leaving, disengaged, and dissatisfied.
Then what can you do to improve the quality of yourself and the communication on Zoom meeting?
Here are some tips that you can apply during your meeting:
- Fix your camera angle and background
- Become aware of language and social cues
- Speak clearly and articulately
- Extend the quantity and quality of communication through Chat
Fix your camera angle and background
As a replacement for your eyes which are naturally eye-leveled with the one you’re talking to, Zoom meeting has cameras that you turn on.
All you and your colleagues can see from each other is captured in that rectangular space by the camera. That means you don’t have a 360-degree picture when you hold a conversation.
In turn, you have to utilize the view of the camera to be able to set a positive appearance and signals that lead to better communication.
Set your device on a table that is on the same level as your sitting height.
Tilt it slightly but not too much, and make sure the camera shows your face and arms.
You’d want people to be able to see your hand gestures because body language is important in communication.
Try to kind of lean back and relax your shoulder, since it appears you’ll have a great posture.
You’d also want your video quality to be good.
Pay attention to the lighting and make sure it’s bright enough for people to see your face.
For people to focus on you when you’re speaking, also try to have an empty space for background or use the virtual background provided by Zoom.
Read this guide on how to change the background of Zoom easily.
Setting up a good position for your camera is the first step to create a positive image in communicating.
Become aware of language and social cues
During a conversation, people don’t directly say what they’re feeling most of the time. Instead, they use body language or social cues to signal what they want.
In a business meeting at work, you have to focus and pay attention to the social cues you’re giving.
Being able to portray positive social cues is important to understand and bring a flow of smooth communication. This way, you can also get along with your colleagues.
Social cues include body language, tone of voice, facial expressions, attire, and eye contact.
- Body language: Try to apply a moderate amount of hand gestures when you’re speaking. Your colleagues can pay more attention and can understand you better with gestures. Avoid moving and fidgeting a lot even if you’re doing it to focus since it’ll have the opposite impression. People might think you’re bored and can’t stay still when they’re still speaking.
- The tone of voice: Remember who you’re speaking to and how formal is your conversation during the meeting is. If you’re in a formal business meeting with higher-ups, you’ll surely don’t want to use a high-pitched voice as it sounds like you’re not being serious. Instead, speak with a lower voice to try to sound serious and convincing.
- Attire: It goes without saying that even if you’re in a video conference in your home, you should always dress properly. Your clothes don’t have to be formal, but it should match with your company’s regulations and doesn’t look out of place.
- Eye contact: Maintain eye contact. Try to always look at the camera on your device during a Zoom meeting, especially when you are speaking to someone. By doing so, you can send an impression that you’re looking directly at the audience. But know when to sometimes stop so you can avoid discomfort in constant eye contact. Instead, try to look at yourself and fix your posture or appearance.
Speak clearly and articulately
One thing that’s important other than your appearance is your voice. In the last section, we’ve glossed a little bit about the tone of voice.
But this section focuses on a different thing. When projecting your voice, be mindful of these things:
- Volume: When speaking, speak in a loud voice. Doesn’t mean you have to shout, but use a forward voice. Project your voice forward so there is depth and echo in your voice. This makes your voice sounds louder and clearer too so it helps when you’re in a video conference and you want people to pick up what you say.
- Enunciation: Pronounce things clearly and roll your tongue with effort. You’ll be surprised to see how effective this is for communication. People tend to respond more quickly if they can easily hear what you are saying.
- Speed: When you’re nervous, you tend to speak faster. You might do it out of habit because you’re not used to public speaking. Always remind yourself to slow down so you don’t get out of breath when speaking. Communicating can feel awkward and forced if you’re speaking too fast, and the other person may not hear you clearly.
But in a reversed situation when you’re not speaking, be sure to not interrupt your colleagues. That means muting your microphone so your voice or any surrounding noise around you.
Effective communication means taking turns in speaking in an orderly manner. So don’t interrupt unless you’re given the chance to sound your mind.
Extend the quantity and quality of communication through Chat
Zoom provides a chat feature within the app that you can use.
You can use it to chat with everyone or private chat with someone with it.
Aside from communicating through the video and speaking, you can also use the chat to create more effective communication.
There’s only so much time for a business meeting and people don’t like it when the meeting gets too long.
Things like taking roll calls, mentioning a list, asking questions shouldn’t be done through the video meeting because they take time.
Instead, use the chat for it.
This makes it easier for people to see too because they might not be able to memorize or catch everything from speech.
It acts as a visual aid for people and the person who’s speaking can also continue on what they’re saying.
The chat feature is also great for a more casual setting when interacting with your colleagues at work.
You can mention someone in private chat and hold another “sub-conversation” in a more personal way.
You can also remind or help your coworkers if they’re forgetting something or making a mistake.
With this interaction based on mutual hospitality, you’ll be able to build a more genuine relationship through this.
Therefore, by optimizing the chat, you’ll increase the amount of communication you’re having but maintain the same quality.
Conclusion
TLDR; by improving your camera view, speaking articulately and confidently, and also using the chat feature, you can increase your chance of having effective communication.
And that’s all the tips for you to hold an effective communication on Zoom meeting. Video conferencing will surely be normalized from now on and you’ll do it more often in the present and in the future.
Perhaps even after Covid-19 is over, some people will still choose to work from home and do Zoom meetings. In that case, why not go ahead and learn how to communicate effectively in video conferences?
By doing so, you’ll certainly have an easy time communicating face-to-face later when you meet your colleagues.
It might be hard for you to be conscious and reflect on yourself suddenly. But with experience, you can do these things subconsciously and build a better relationship with your colleagues in no time.
You will be glad to know that 9cv9 has partnered with Zoom to enable businesses to integrate their hiring activities with Zoom seamless. You can now start a Zoom interview with your candidate applicants straight from 9cv9 ATS Platform.
Do try today for a free trial at 9cv9.
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