Effective Virtual Communications Begin With Empathy

In the remote work flurry of instant messaging, group texts, hurried phone calls and weighty emails, there is almost always some loss of context, be that tone of voice, body language or both.

If Mr. Mehrabian is right and we convey our meanings and messages mainly through tone of voice and body language, how can we ensure our communication doesn’t degrade as we continue to work within the digital environment?

People are busy; they’re consuming information quickly and reacting on a dime. To ensure they’re picking up what you’re putting down, it’s important to embrace — and harness — all of the communication methods the virtual world has to offer.

This includes turning webcams on to ensure that you’re noticing and acting on confused faces and crossed arms. Trust me, ensuring accurate communication is more important than unruly beards, messy hair and bare faces. In fact, seeing people when they aren’t perfectly composed builds trust and comfort in the workplace, breaking down the barriers posed by pasted ideals of professionalism.

This leads me to my next point: reassessing the sense of community within your teams. Without water cooler talk and passing glances, the bonds that united co-workers — building workplace rapport, bolstering teamwork and even diffusing tension — may be weakening.

So, get personal in your meetings, encourage vulnerability, have people share those pics of Tommy’s soccer game or introduce that curious cat to the team. Rebuild relationships to encourage better communication. If you understand a teammate’s speaking style or baseline demeanor, you’re more likely to accurately interpret their email or text message.

Perhaps most important to effective virtual communication is understanding the emotional state people are in when they are sending and receiving information and carefully considering how this might shape their meaning or perception.

Some people’s lives have been changed forever. They’ve lost loved ones, close friends and relatives, and it's been tough. In other cases, people have had health concerns, both mental and physical. They may have had the virus and continue to deal with the impacts, whether it be lung conditions, memory loss or existential dread. Such experiences have reshaped the worldview and temperament of millions; it's a different workforce now. We must understand that.

As a virus has battered all we thought to be normal, the working world has transformed. Sure, it’s become more intense — Microsoft reports that the average Teams user is sending 45% more messages per week and 42% more messages outside of work hours — but it’s also become more human, with one in six people confessing to having cried in front of their co-workers during the last 18 months.

It’s no secret why. People have navigated unprecedented stress on the front lines. They’ve balanced childcare and homeschool. They’ve worked from living rooms, bedrooms and kitchens, all while wiping runny noses and quieting barking dogs. With each glimpse into the personal lives of our co-workers, with each crumbling boundary of the "professionalism" we once adhered to, something changed: Work became more human.

The digital, remote work revolution has brought flexibility and confusion, simplicity and stress and a deeper understanding of the human beings we spend our days collaborating with. This gives us the power to unlock the true potential of bonded teams, but we must first make sure that we do the emotional work to hear and be heard effectively through digital mediums.

Effective virtual communications begin with empathy, understanding and a willingness to accept the humanization of the workforce.