Communication strategies to encourage interactivity in virtual meetings
- Shannon Bradley
Facilitating the teaching and learning process in virtual meetings requires a different set of communication techniques than those previously utilized for in-person meetings. We have heard it said: Commanding a Zoom is not the same as commanding a room (Smith, 2020)! For instance, non-verbal gestures, body language, and physical ques, may not easily translate from the physical space to the virtual space. Generally, presentations are about the listener, not about the speaker (Plank, 2016). While this seems to occur more naturally in an in-person setting, our goal is to consider how this translates to virtual environment. Plank (2016) suggests to design the following three components of charismatic communication into your delivery style:
Energy: more effectively achieved through warm-up and preparation
Engagement: use visual cues to establish a connection with participants
Empathy: focus on the needs of your listeners
The ability for the instructor, facilitator, or leader to effectively deliver educational content in a virtual setting requires an active retooling of one’s skill-set from the in-person environment to a virtual setting. This may include establishing a more effective communication flow by practicing communication signals that clearly show engagement and interest in what others are saying. Besides nodding heads, the use of reactions feature (emoticons) can help in signaling agreement or emotions. Similarly, the chat function allows for sharing quick comments to clarify or add information without interrupting the speaker. In turn, these effective communication skills can enhance a facilitator’s virtual presence as well..
Linguist Deborah Tannen (n.d.) points out that the way we speak in a conversation, influences the way the other person speaks and that the natural tendencies of engagement and inter- activity in a virtual setting are altered. The natural back and forth that occurs in a traditional setting to generate new ideas, to talk, listen and respond are disrupted. These disruptions will challenge session facilitators as the discussion dynamics change from a traditional setting to a virtual one. It is more difficult to get a natural sense of how long a pause in conversation might be, and the ques that we send and receive as a part of a naturally occurring discussion are also no longer there. For example, it is often times seen as interrupting another participant or rude, when there is a transition from one speaker to another speaker. In order to ease this transition, facilitators must recognize these nuances and effectively employ best practices coupled with the use of moderation features available with the teleconferencing technology. As simple as preparing and sharing guidelines and technical procedures prior to the teleconference session may alleviate some of these nuances. In order to better moderate these communication nuances in the virtual environment while still encouraging interactivity and support engagement consider these measures:
Pause after about every ten minutes and create opportunities and procedures for participants to reflect, by responding to prompts, discussing, or asking questions.
Position your camera so that you are looking forward, not to the side, and so that your face and eyes appear connected and engaged. Your face should take up 1/3 of the screen.
If you rely on your hands as a non-verbal cue for elaboration, then adjust the distance of your camera to ensure that this animation can be captured in your screen.
Situate lighting in front of you, not behind you, so that your face and expressions are clearly visible.
Eliminate visual distractions in your camera’s view by closing in the space around you.
Eliminate auditory distractions by conducting the session in a quiet place and test your microphone to avoid echo or other technical difficulties.
Pay attention to how you bring energy, engagement, and empathy. Examine your own facial expressions so that you do not appear distracted or uninterested.
Recognize the nuances and rhythms in your voice when you are in a physical setting so that you can replicate those in a virtual setting by varying pitch patterns. This is especially important to practice if you are reading something. Remember 38 percent of communication is in the tone of the voice.
Incorporate the use of non-verbal cues.
These guidelines and technical procedures will depend on the number of participants, the session goals, and the features available within the selected teleconference tool. For example, for a group of ten participants, it may be adequate to speak up and answer a question. For a group with one hundred participants, it may be best to use the webinar mode, where all participants are muted, and facilitator can then ask a question and encourage participants to ‘raise their digital hand’, and as the raised hand names are displayed, then the facilitator can then call on and un-mute participants, prior to speaking up. Either way, and for each scenario, valuable strategies exist to increase interactivity and engagement in a virtual setting.
Leading, or even participating in a virtual meeting, relies on different communication cues than from being in a physical setting. While this involves the virtual communication of energy, engagement, and empathy (Plank, 2016), developing the skills and abilities to convey these features requires deliberate practice. By acknowledging these differences, and with a little practice and the careful structuring of the virtual session, virtual communication can support engagement and interactivity.