CEO Magazine: Effective Communication
I’m grateful to CEO Magazine for the opportunity to contribute to their Leading from a Distance article in the June 2020 issue.
Leading from a Distance Article, CEO Magazine
In the article by Anastasia Prikhodko, four CEOs share how they successfully lead businesses, build culture and inspire their global workforces—all from afar.
An excellent piece of journalism, this article fits perfectly into the period of time we find ourselves in, as many businesses pivot to survive a COVID-19 world.
Effective Communication
Where I come in, is in the section about effective communication. Anastasia, took my words and transformed them into a beautifully flowing piece of work. You can read the full article in print, otherwise, download your free digital June issue of The CEO Magazine ANZ here. Article on page 80 - 83 of the digital issue.
Otherwise, you can read what I submitted to Anastasia, below.
The importance of Nonverbal Communication
While most people spend time working on the verbal component of messaging, how the message is delivered nonverbally, is often left to chance. This overlooked component of communication can be the difference between people paying attention and taking action, or switching off and doing nothing.
What's at play here is emotion. How a verbal message is delivered, influences emotion–and emotion drives behaviour. Whether we’re communicating in person, by conferencing technology, video or phone, subtle nuances in nonverbal communication make a significant difference in whether emotion is driven in the right direction.
Engaging an Audience
One of the hurdles in communication is compelling people to pay attention–without this, the message goes nowhere. Potential additional distractions in remote/virtual working environments can make it harder for both delivering and paying attention to a message. Minimising distractions like considering location/background and closing down notifications and apps can help all parties be present, but what’s crucial is capturing and engaging an audience or communication partner.
This can be achieved nonverbally, through body language, expression and voice. Most of us know how painful it is to endure listening to someone with a monotonous voice, expressionless face and motionless body. There’s no variance, no movement and no emotion–our subject matter is less stimulating, opening us up to distractions, mind wondering and even sleepiness.
People with more expressive faces, those who use purposeful hand gestures and those with more vocal variance (speed, volume, pitch, etc) are more engaging, influential and persuasive. What’s more, when gestures, expressions and vocal delivery are in alignment with the verbal message (in other words it’s honest), the message becomes clearer–it’s easier to interpret, understand and remember because communication comes via two channels–we hear it and we see it.
Honesty and trust in Communication
Being transparent and honest with verbal messaging is important in eliciting feelings of trust, a primary driver of behaviour. From a nonverbal perspective, trust stems from the alignment between words and behaviour and ‘friend’ signals, which put people at ease. The most obvious–and powerful–friend signal is a smile, so greeting a communication partner/audience with a smile, can immediately create feelings of comfort, getting the interaction off to a positive start. Even if the interaction takes place on the phone, the communication partner subconsciously picks up on vocal nuances created when smiling.
Showing confidence also helps to elicit trust, because, confidence signals competence. When we appear confident in the words we speak, people are more likely to buy into our message. Conversely, if our message is delivered with stress and discomfort indicators (fiddling, jiggling, crossed arms, etc), defeated body language and a nervous voice (higher-pitched, trembling), why should we expect anybody to buy into it?
Showing competence, especially during times of uncertainty, is reassuring. Therefore, even when the future is uncertain and the verbal message is transparent in conveying that uncertainty, delivering the message calmly, with a confident voice and body language says, "We've got this”. This serves to bring a level of relief and trust in their leaders.
Building Connection through Nonverbal Communication
Closely associated with trust, is connection. From a nonverbal perspective, connection is primarily formed through touch and eye contact, creating a release of oxytocin, the hormone of connection and bonding. Touch is absent in remote/virtual environments, but we can still attempt to use eye contact as a means to connect when using video/conferencing technology.
This means a deliberate effort to make eye contact with the camera as you speak. It can feel awkward and the distraction increases cognitive load, but placing a homemade viewfinder (a sticky note with a hole) over a camera on a computer, can make it easier. However, it’s far from ideal, as important communication signals from your communication partner may be missed.
