3 Ways You Can Improve Team Communication Virtually and in-Person
In 2020, remote work became more popular than it has ever been. Due to the pandemic, businesses were forced into adopting remote work. While there are many benefits of working from home, many can attest that the lack of communication and team connection is not one of them.
Communication has the power of bringing people together and creating a successful and efficient work process. The challenge we face nowadays in this socially distant world is the negative effect that a communication gap can cause.
The Importance of communication
It is a fact that when we work alone, we have one particular way of thinking, but when we work in a team setting, we challenge one another into thinking differently and become more creative. When you use an effective communication strategy, it increases team-building opportunities, and the workflows also get proficient. Employees feel heard, recognized and valued.
How to Improve Your Team Communication?
There are several strategies you can use to improve communication with your team virtually. Here are some of the valuable ideas you can try.
1. Stay focused
The last time you had a virtual meeting with your colleagues, did you feel a lack of responsiveness, a lack of attention or interest in what you were communicating? Some may have had their videos turned off, and others were checking emails. Sounds familiar?
Virtually or in person, this can be pretty frustrating. Lack of attention devalues the conversation and makes people zone out.
When you maintain eye contact during meetings, you feel valued, and it encourages staying present and immersed in the conversation.
It is essential to encourage teammates to value each other time. Undivided attention helps improve communication. Many can attest that it is a pillar of healthy workplace meetings.
2. Be mindful of your posture
We cannot perceive what someone is trying to say just by focusing on the words. Other factors like the pitch of the voice and body movements contribute heavily to delivering the complete message. Words are only a fraction of the conversation.
For instance, if you maintain a poker face during a meeting, it shows that you are not interested. Makes sense? Your posture speaks a lot about your confidence and involvement in the discussion. If you sit with crossed arms, it portrays a closed-up attitude, while when you sit with your arms resting on your sides, it shows a more relaxed mood.
Sitting up straight, maintaining eye contact and nodding your head when needed can tremendously improve the conversation. When you give gestures and show reactions, it shows your mindfulness during a conversation.
3. Practice makes perfect
You can consciously make an effort to improve your communication skills as a group via activities and workshops that cultivate your team’s emotional intelligence. Here are some examples:
‘Game On’ is a great activity to help break communication barriers between colleagues. It’s an excellent way to put into practice’ letting go’, stop self-judgment, and learn how to be gentle with ourselves and with others. Your team will understand the difference between intention and intonation and demonstrating and feeling.
‘Improv in Motion’ is the perfect activity for honing your communication skills and learning improvisation techniques. The workshop works on learning how to let go, teaches active listening and responsiveness, among other things. Different exercises will lead your teammates to explore their creativity without judgment.
‘Blind Drawing’ is another fun game that puts your team’s communication and listening skills to the test. You will all get a good laugh guaranteed when you share your drawings at the end of the game and realize how your message may have been completely misinterpreted.
Conclusion
Efficient communication is the foundation of solid working relationships. Teammates who adopt constructive communication build up a highly energetic and productive working environment.
There are many ways by which you can improve your communication skills, such as being present and focused on the conversation, maintaining good posture and by improving your communication skills through training and workshops. The latter can help escalate your team’s communication skills and emotional intelligence while having fun. Who says team development needs to be boring!
We would love to hear from you in the comments below.
About Claire Hayek– President & CEO, Author & Team-Building Leader at MSP Teambuilding, Claire is always eager to share her knowledge about team motivation and is passionate about learning new things. Got any questions? Drop a mail at [email protected]
