In our first post on hybrid meetings, we talked about best practices for managing focus when leading meetings with some people in the room and others participating remotely. But even if you’re not in the leadership role, you contribute to the efficiency and effectiveness of the hybrid meetings you attend. If you don’t make these...
read moreHybrid Meetings: Projecting Professionalism
July 2, 2021 0 Comments
One of the many interesting observations from the pandemic is the evolution of people’s Zoom backgrounds. Initially, everyone was excited to play with the virtual backgrounds available online. I saw people log in from virtual versions of a dive bar, Versailles, and the bridge of the Starship Enterprise. Eventually, talking to colleagues who were literally...
read moreHybrid Meetings: Managing the Focal Point
April 28, 2021 0 Comments
One thing the pandemic has shown is that people can work efficiently from home. A lot of major corporations, including Salesforce, Google, and Amazon, are working on a “hybrid” model that combines working in the office with working at home—either on a fixed schedule or as determined by the workload and need for in-person collaboration. The number of challenges...
read moreDry Runs: The Key to Training Readiness in the Virtual World
August 14, 2020 0 Comments
In the post-pandemic world, the communication skills training we deliver takes place in both virtual and face-to-face environments. Surprisingly, as the pandemic wore on, we learned that, in some respects, virtual delivery is preferred. It’s easier to schedule and doesn’t require any travel costs. Face-to-face training still plays its role, of course, because it helps...
read moreNew Book: The VIRTUAL Orderly Conversation
August 10, 2020 0 Comments
The year 2020 will be remembered for many things, most of them incredibly sad, frightening, and shocking. In this global context, the frustration we all feel with virtual communication seems like such a small thing. We have to stay at home and work online every day? In the big scheme of things, that’s not even...
read moreLeading Remote Teams During Challenging Times
March 10, 2020 0 Comments
If your organization is like many others, you’re worried about the spread of Coronavirus and what it means to your people and your business. It’s an uncertain, disquieting time for everyone. As we are already seeing, many organizations are making commonsense decisions to reduce travel and asking employees to work remotely. What that means, of...
read moreThe Orderly Conversation Defined
March 11, 2019 0 Comments
One of the most important things for business communicators to understand is the distinction between a speech and a presentation. They are not the same. The problem is not that people struggle to articulate the difference between the two or have a hard time distinguishing one from the other as an audience member. The problem...
read moreBusiness Communication in a Virtual World
February 27, 2019 0 Comments
During every communication workshop we deliver, whether it’s for presenters, facilitators, or trainers, there’s one frustration we hear repeatedly. No one likes to conduct business virtually. Neither do I. However, virtual meetings, online training, webinars, and video conferences aren’t going away, so we might as well figure out how to present information and facilitate discussions...
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