Key Messages
Master Your Digital Body Language: The Dos And Don’Ts Of Virtual Communication
If you want to be an effective and successful communicator, mastering your digital body language is essential.
With so many of us interacting with each other via screens, it can be challenging to truly understand one another without traditional body language cues.
Luckily, there are plenty of digital signs we can learn to recognize and use to our advantage!
By understanding and utilizing proper digital communication etiquette in our everyday conversations, we can make sure our messages come across as intended and reduce misunderstandings.
Learning how to communicate clearly and seamlessly online allows us to save time, less stress, and even foster a sense of closeness despite physical distances.
Nail down the fundamentals of digital conversations by following the dos and don’ts outlined in this book.
If you do, you’ll have no problem becoming a great digital communicator!
Learning To Master Digital Body Language For A Healthier Online Life
As the world moves increasingly online, effective communication goes beyond what we say.
We need to understand and recognize the cues in our digital body language if we want to successfully communicate in this virtual age.
Unfortunately, these nonverbal cues – such as eye contact, smiles, pauses, tone, volume, posture and proximity – which make up nearly three-quarters of face-to-face communication are simply not visible when communicating through a computer or mobile device.
This creates confusion and misunderstanding that can lead to misunderstanding even among close friends and family members.
The online disinhibition effect makes matters worse by encouraging us to express ourselves with an informality that we’d never consider with face-to-face conversations.
Even email is guilty of causing communication issues, since interpretating the tone of emails is misinterpreted 50 percent of the time according to the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology!
That’s why tuning into our digital body language is important if we want to effectively communicate in this modern world.
By doing so, you can reduce misunderstandings that could otherwise harm relationships both professionally and personally.
Plus you can increase productivity while also looking after your mental wellbeing.
So take some good advice: pay attention to your digital body language!
The Power Of Punctuation: Understanding Digital Body Language In The Age Of Online Communication
In the digital age, body language cues are no longer implicit or visible.
Instead, they need to be explicitly conveyed in our online communication.
This means that punctuation marks, timing, and medium used become powerful representations of how we feel about and approach a conversation.
Take for example a message from Jack’s boss with only a period at the end instead of an exclamation point.
That one little period had huge emotional resonance for Jack—it indicated disapproval and unhappiness when there previously had been none.
On the contrary, too many exclamation points can come off as friendliness even if it wasn’t intended that way.
Moreover, the length of time it took to press send can be read as an indication of respect as well as anxiety if trust levels are low or power dynamics aren’t quite bolted down yet.
Finally, choosing which platform is best suited for what type of conversation establishes whether you prioritize it or not and are attuned to professional expectations.
These ways that digital body language translates into punctuation ,timing ,and medium are essential to understand in this world of asynchronous communications.
Valuing Visibly: The Art Of Showing Respect In The Digital World
Valuing Visibly is about communicating your appreciation and respect for others in a clear, visible way.
It involves the explicit expression of three key things: attentiveness, awareness, and appreciation.
For one, making sure to pay attention and reference details in your communications (for example spelling someone’s name right) is key when it comes to showing that you value visibility.
Additionally, demonstrating your awareness by honoring other people’s time (by promptly responding to emails or not canceling meetings at short notice) goes a long way.
Moreover, valuing visibly also means taking into account individual differences when interacting with different people (i.e.
allowing quieter voices to be heard or scheduling downtime between calls).Finally, showing gratitude towards people through tangible expressions of appreciation such as saying “Thank you so much!” can make all the difference in how valued someone feels in a situation.
Communicating Carefully: The Second Law Of Digital Body Language
Communicating carefully is essential when it comes to digital body language.
It involves becoming discerning with things like word choice, punctuation, nuance, and humor.
Writing clearly can help you express yourself better and avoid costly misunderstandings.
You should also think about tailoring your tone to the particular audience you’re addressing.
Greetings and signatures should be chosen appropriately depending on how formal or informal you want to be.
In addition to choosing the right words, it’s also important to choose the right channel for your message.
Length, complexity, and familiarity with both the topic and recipient should influence this decision.
For instance, if a serious or complex issue deserves more than an off-the-cuff text response, then use a more deliberate approach via email instead.
Finally, ensure clarity by providing bold or underlined headings in longer emails and always try to proofread mistakes before hitting send.
If there are any misunderstandings in the conversation that need clearing up, ask follow-up questions or switch channels from an email to a phone call if necessary so everyone stays on the same page.
The Benefits Of Setting Deadlines And Sticking To Them
Collaborating confidently and effectively is key to a successful work environment.
To foster teamwork, consistency is essential.
Keep your colleagues informed on projects, deadlines, and other tasks required of them.
Additionally, be sure to establish clear expectations so your team knows what success looks like.
Set explicit goals and ask the right questions: What needs to be done? Who’s doing it? And by when?
Moreover, it’s important to make yourself available for any questions that arise- thereby keeping everyone motivated.
At the same time, though, be aware of the drawbacks of asynchronous communication – as this can lead to misunderstandings due to misinterpretations or confusion about timings.
Consider taking time before responding thoughtfully instead of sending an emotional or hasty response which could lead to wasted time and frustration for everyone involved.
You should also allow others their own time frame- up to 24 hours-to provide thoughtful responses themselves.
In short, collaborating confidently means making yourself accessible while staying informed; setting crystal clear expectations; exercising thoughtful responses ;and being consistent in providing helpful updates throughout a project’s timeline.
Build Trust By Empowering Others And Practicing Vulnerability
In order to cultivate an atmosphere of trust, it is essential to be vulnerable and empower others.
In 2016, Microsoft released their AI chatbot Tay.
It quickly learned offensive language from users and had to be disabled after 24 hours.
CEO Satya Nadella took this in stride, sending an email motivating the team to continue innovating rather than berating them for their lapse in judgment.
Lead by example with vulnerability – this will invite others to share their perspectives without fear of consequences.
Statements such as “Operations is not my strong suit, and I’m open to your suggestions” or “I may be missing something – Can you help?” demonstrate how value their work and input within the team.
Plus, if mistakes were made or bad ideas given – criticize the action not the person – show support continuously throughout the process as someone may find that a disruptive/domineering colleague can eventually become a great collaborator.
Empowering those around you with freedom over their work – trusting them fully form start to finish – will transmit safety and security in any environment where you need high-functioning collaborative teams of people across gender, geography, generations, etc.
To have trust totally in such a workplace, each team member should feel that they are valued while being allowed creative initiative to do successful work without feeling shame over failures or criticism concerning mistakes!
Gender Bias In A Digital World: How Women Can Break The Status Quo
The digital workplace can be a great equalizer for traditional gender biases.
Penelope Gazin and Kate Dwyer found this out when, after starting their online marketplace Witchsy, they received condescending emails from potential clients and collaborators.
They brought in a male cofounder—Keith who existed only as a name on the screen—and promptly saw their business boosted.
This is because written messages deemphasize traditional signs of leadership such as voice timbre, thereby allowing women to share authority in male-dominated workforces more easily.
While this technology flattens some gender biases, it can also amplify others since competent female leaders must still come across as both warm and confident to be seen as competent by those around them.
It’s important to stay true to your authentic self while also adapting your messaging style to that of your workplace if you want to build trust, camaraderie and engagement among colleagues.
To lead with confidence, avoid softening exclamations as well as hedge language like “could you maybe”.
You should also consider setting up a rule of starting all email correspondences with “What I Need From You (WINFY)”.
Communication Is An Art, And It Takes Empathy To Master It
When communicating with people from different cultures and generations, it is important to be aware of the differences that can exist between them.
This is especially true in our globally connected world where there are now multiple high-context and low-context cultures sharing the same space.
High-context cultures, such as those in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, are more likely to emphasize nonverbal cues within communication.
Low-context cultures found mostly in English-speaking Western countries place more emphasis on explicit verbal communication.
To communicate effectively in both types of contexts, it’s vital to be mindful of nuances; this includes reading between the lines in high-context conversations as well as being precise and succinct in low-context messages.
Generational divides have also opened up when it comes to communication practices and preferences.
Digital natives—people who have grown up within technology—frequently rely on emails for formal conversations whereas digital adapters—those who adopted digital technology later in life—find phone calls far simpler.
When dealing with people from a different generation than you, the best approach to bridge divides is by understanding the other person’s point of view rather than forcing your own onto them.
For example, if someone who uses texting more often feels anxious about receiving unexpected phone calls, try sending them a preemptive text or email before making any calls.
Finally, don’t be afraid to discuss differences when communicating with people from different backgrounds.
Using an inquisitive rather than confrontational mindset can help build bridges over gaps created by cultural or generational gaps in communication styles.
Wrap Up
Natures Nutrition’s Digital Body Language Book provides an in-depth breakdown of the role that digital body language plays in day-to-day communication, productivity, and morale.
The principles it lays out are simple: Valuing Visibly, Communication Carefully, Collaborate Confidently, and Trusting Totally.
However, without practice and awareness to back these up, these core concepts struggle to manifest themselves in our interactions.
To ensure success when building relationships over digital platforms, Natures Nutrition emphasizes establishing a virtual “watercooler moment” where people can relax and enjoy each other’s company – such as five to ten minutes at the beginning of a team meeting for open conversations.
By enacting these principals with intentionality, we can build adaptive and resilient bonds across cultures, genders and generations!
