Over the past few years, a new layer of communication complexity has entered the chat...literally.
By now, you've probably memorized the most common concerns around effective communication in a hybrid or remote work environment.
"Are my employees as productive at home as they are in the office?"
"How can teams get to know each other behind the screen?"
"Is it possible to network from different physical locations?"
While we agree it's important to have in-person interaction and socialization from time to time, you can assuage and overcome these concerns by changing the way you connect with others online, no matter the tool being used. Remember, there's a real human behind the words you're reading on the screen (unless you're using ChatGPT, but that's another story), and communicating online doesn't have to be cold and robotic. Think about it. Getting to know someone -- whether that's a friend, a colleague, or a client, follows a similar process each time. 1) You're introduced. 2) You get to know them, they get to know you. 3) You begin building trust. 4) The relationship stabilizes and finds its groove depending on the nature of the relationship.
One of the biggest mistakes we've seen in online corporate settings is that many people try to skip steps 2 and 3 so that they can "get down to business," but they're fast-forwarding past the most crucial part of communicating. This can result in a weakened team dynamic, a lack of trust, and even loyal loyalty among customers or stakeholders. Here are our top 5 tips to help you better network and form strong professional relationships:
1) Be. Yourself.
It's OK to laugh at the cliche, but seriously. Leave the alter-ego at the door and find the communication pattern and style that feels most comfortable to you. If you're struggling to figure out what that is, try asking yourself, "How would I respond to this if this person were standing 3 feet away from me?" and try incorporating your mental response into your written text. The difference between "OK" and "Okay, sounds good!" is that the latter takes you an additional two seconds to type and hopefully prevents the recipient from wondering what they did wrong.
2) Take the time to catch up
3) Know your audience
4) Leverage this knowledge when you DO meet in person.
5) Get comfortable with your organization's go-to business messaging app
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