Would You Rather See My Face or My Body?
Effective communication has been disrupted by the Covid pandemic. In my line of work, I have always pushed clients to hold more in person, face to face meetings. Covid has changed the feasibility of face to face in person meetings and has brought rise to video conferencing. I have been pleased to see the rapid adoption of video calling as it is much more effective than phone conversations. Back in 2014 I was interviewed by Jobvite regarding the benefits of video interviewing and it has amazed me that it took six years from the time of that article until now that video interviewing and video meetings have really taken hold. It took a global pandemic to change behavior.
In the communications workshops that Groove Management leads, we help our clients to understand the importance of non-verbal communication. The graphic below usually surprises workshop participants and helps them to realize just how important it is to pay attention to tone and body language.
Video meetings are definitely the new norm and Zoom had been a major beneficiary of this shift. Recently, CNBC’s Jim Cramer donned a mask and made the point that he would much rather have a meeting over Zoom with no mask than an in person meeting where he has to wear a mask. I think this is a very salient point.
I have been encouraging my clients to escape Zoom fatigue by holding outdoor, socially distanced team meetings with masks. Reconnecting in person is very beneficial and it re-energizes teams. We have found that teams that get together physically return to video calls with more energy and more of a sense of belonging. That said, I had an interesting experience facilitating an outdoor socially distanced meeting for a new client.
We met for two strategic planning sessions at an outdoor location. The venue was perfect and we had engaging meetings, but for me as a facilitator it was extremely difficult. Other than the CEO, I had not met the team members prior to the meeting. Meeting people for the first time with masks on and then engaging in a deep dialogue is extremely challenging. I could only read body language and their eyes. Without the benefit of seeing their entire faces, I had a lot of difficulty interpreting intent and engagement. For the rest of the team who have been working together pre-Covid it was refreshing to see each other in person again, but they know each other’s mannerisms and were comfortable communicating with each other with the masks.
Socially distanced and masked outdoor team meeting at Camp North end, Charlotte, NC
My take-away is similar to Jim Cramer’s point. If I have the choice of seeing a persons face or their body, I will choose their face every time. In my line of work, reading facial expressions and reactions is critical to coaching and developing people. I still encourage my clients to do a hybrid of socially distanced outdoor meetings as well as video meetings. For me the one thing I have changed is that in advance of holding a masked in person meeting, I now ask for a one on one video call with each participant in advance of the meeting. Your face tells me much more than your body, but ultimately see both improves communication. In fact, I have suggested that when presenting on video that people consider stepping further back from the camera in order to show more than just a headshot. Standing up while presenting on video is even more advantageous when trying to engage an audience.