Connecting in a Hybrid World with Erica Dhawan

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This week’s newsletter has advice from the author of the amazing book Digital Body Language, Erica Dhawan.

Erica Dhawan is an author, entrepreneur, and award-winning keynote speaker. She is the world’s leading authority on Connectional Intelligence.?She is the author of two books Get Big Things Done: The Power of Connectional Intelligence and her latest book Digital Body Language became an instant Wall Street Journal Bestselling book in 2021. She was named by Thinkers50 as the “Oprah of Management Thinkers.”

With so many of us working from home and finding our way through building true connections virtually, I knew our conversation about understanding body language, adapting to the digital world, and how we can use what we’ve learned for a more innovative and creative future with digital body language would be full of insights.

Here are a few of my favorite parts of our time together.?

Tell me a little about who you are, and how you become an author?

I grew up as a shy and introverted Indian kid in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. My parents were Indian immigrants, which meant at home, we spoke Hindi. So when I got to school, I struggled with accented English. I remember one of the things that I was able to do because I was so quiet was to be an observant person. It really helped me understand as I tried to navigate two cultures, two languages.?

I remember watching Bollywood movies and the entire story being spoken in Hindi. I didn't know exactly what they were saying, but I could interpret it through body language. Fast-forward 30 years, I became an expert in communication and body language.?

About four to five years ago I kept hearing the same questions from my clients,” Why is there so much misunderstanding at work? How do we better connect with different ages and working styles?” We are all immigrants to digital body language because our language hasn't disappeared in the digital world, it has transformed. Some of us are using digital body language blindly or accidentally.?

The goal of my book is to bring a set of rules and understanding for the signals we're sending, even if we don't intend to. Most importantly, my book means to create a culture of inclusion regardless of the person and regardless of the distance.

What do you see and what have we learned during the last 14 months that we can apply going forward??

I think that the last year has allowed us to be more innovative and more inclusive when we're using digital body language carefully than we've ever been in the past. In the last year, I've been hearing from introverts who have told me I finally feel heard in the meeting through the virtual chat tool. Another example, I'm seeing teams breaking silos in different ways.?

One client I know is doing virtual office hours where people are working and doing those drive-by coffee chats but in a virtual way. For the first time ever they are including people that aren't in the New York City headquarters. These stories are examples that show we can use this moment not to go back to work, but to transform work, to be more inclusive, more creative. It requires us to use digital body language carefully and thoughtfully.?

How do you maintain empathy in a digital world?

This is difficult because empathy is the ability to step into another’s shoes while at the same time remaining in your own shoes. I think empathy today is about valuing others; you can do this by visibly showing that you heard them, that you listened. When I'm presenting a lot of times, I'm constantly asking people to share their thoughts in the chat.?

Erica’s thoughtful insight into digital body language and how we can utilize this tool to create stronger connections now and as we move forward creates an invaluable conversation. Her innovative strategies are necessary when you’re thinking about how to unlock the collective power of teams, build a culture of trust across any distance, and create authentic engagement to ensure competitiveness.

I hope you enjoyed this installment of my Think Forward Newsletter.

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Mahalo, Tiffani