How to Communicate More Effectively During Video Calls

Every week, I host a live interview show for Newsweek called "Better" - and for the last day of 2020, we will talk with Todd Cherches. Todd will share with us the power of visual thinking, and we'll also take questions live from the audience on Thursday, December 31st, at 12 PM EST/9am PT/5pm GMT. For an easy calendar reminder to join us, click here.

If you are already booked at noon ET on Thursday, subscribe to my YouTube channel and get notified when the replays of this and all future episodes go live by clicking the red subscribe button.

Last week, communications expert Jyoti Singhvi offered a handful of actionable tips to improve our online communication, with specifics on video conferencing techniques. Here are a couple of her suggestions from our conversation, and if you’d like to watch the entire interview, the replay of our conversation is available here. 

The three “E’s” of video communication:

“The first E is going to be your energy, which has to be amplified at least twice or three times on a Zoom or video conversation because it dissipates as it goes through your screen to somebody else's screen. You have to show up with the maximum possible energy adjusted to the type of situation and audience you're speaking to. The second E is engagement.You can engage in welcoming your audiences by saying hello and asking them to chat. Those are some really great ways to engage your audience. The third E, which is extremely important, is empathy. Everyone is dealing with a lot right now. So don't worry about making things absolutely perfect. Do your very best, but when you show up, present with the right mindset, the right energy, and you're going to do a phenomenal job."

The hidden benefits of video calls:

“I'm starting to build so many stronger and greater relationships, because earlier if somebody was in California, all I did was a phone call. I'm in the New York area. Even if it was a New York meeting, I was spending at least an hour going back and forth between each other's offices, right? So a lot of time was wasted. Now you get on Zoom, you really get to see people live in their backgrounds and their environments, and you really get to connect with people on a deeper level."

The importance of eye contact:

“Eye contact [on the screen] actually makes people think and feel that you are making real eye contact. You want to look in the eye of the camera. Today I'm using an iPad, and that's really hard because on the iPad, the camera is at the top of the rectangle. It will be awkward to focus on the camera in the beginning, but the more you do it, the easier it becomes. So as much as possible, look at the eye of the camera, and then from time to time, you're going to have to look at your audience because you want to get their feedback. You want to have an engaged conversation with your audience.”

Thank you for reading this week’s newsletter! Please leave a comment and share, and have a fantastic new year online and in person! For additional useful tools and resources, join my email mailing list here - which has new content different from this newsletter!

Wishing you health, success, and a happy new year - 

Dorie