How to communicate in a virtual world
Parent Post
Despite the importance of
Despite the importance of authenticity in communication, it can be challenging to develop and maintain.
While being perceived as authentic is ideal, actually always behaving authentically can lead to disaster.
Given that many workplace
Given that many workplace interactions now occur at a distance, there is often a choice of which mode of communication to utilize, from email to face-to-face and video conferencing.
If it’s possible that some modes of communication can result in misinterpretations or masking of emotions, here is how they can be used strategically to make inauthentic emotions seem more authentic.
If you are communicating
If you are communicating inauthentically (you need to suppress emotions not appropriate for an interaction), on average, it is best to utilize telephone or audio communication in order to appear most authentic.
If you have to use email to relay emotions that you want to be perceived as authentic, find a way to make it clear that you didn’t make the choice on purpose, or that the choice was for a positive reason, to help reduce the attribution that it was a low effort.
Being inauthentic by hiding
Being inauthentic by hiding underlying emotions may be done with a motivation to benefit others, with a realization that true authenticity may not be appropriate for the context.
This creates a potential bind, whereby leaders are often faced with a choice to
- Either display emotions that they may not be feeling at the risk of being punished for being perceived as inauthentic.
- Or be authentic and risk being punished for displaying inappropriate emotions.
For managers, if you
For managers, if you want to reduce your employees’ Zoom fatigue, consider making it the norm to allow people to keep their webcams off.
Being on camera can be incredibly taxing and exhausting for employees to try to mask the stress that they may be feeling due to the pandemic.
Turning off webcams allows for individuals to worry less about which emotions they may be displayed, and instead allows them to focus simply on the task at hand.
True underlying emotions often
True underlying emotions often leak through, resulting in emotional mismatches. There are three key reasons for this:
- Situational conflicts. It’s difficult to display the needed emotion due to challenges or conflicting factors directly related to the situation.
- Spillover effects. A strong emotion from a prior interaction doesn’t automatically dissipate and emotions often spill over from one moment to the next.
- Communication channel difficulties. There are now technology-driven communication barriers that prevent emotions from being perceived as authentic.