Communicate Relevantly: Go ahead and Hack! (Part 2)

Part 2: Up Close and Personal - Hacking (digital) tools to engage intentionally

Welcome (back)! To those who have chanced upon this blog post, you've landed on Part 2 of our 3-part communication series as titled above. If so, you might want to start with Part 1 in which Katy shared about the need to move away from classical construction of communication principles simply because social dynamics in today's digital world have forever moved on from the 2-dimensional physical realm. In order to remain relevant, we need to reassemble existing communication framework(s) that we do know into one that works for us.

The 3Vs: Visual, Vocal, Verbal

First, let's start with what we are acquainted with in the space of communication. Of course, there are numerous iterations but a common one would be the 3Vs: Visual, Vocal and Verbal. If you're unfamiliar with this, go ahead and watch this video that breaks down the 3 communication aspects.

Simply put, the 3Vs advocates an alignment of visual, vocal and verbal resources in the way we engage with our audience in an "in-person" (physical or online) setting. This alignment or "sweet spot" is where a speaker should "hit" in order to engage optimally.

But we know that this view of deconstructing communication is inadequate in today's digital age where we could be zooming one moment without shoes at home and suit-up impeccably for a physical meeting in the next instance.

Also, there are at least 3 "newer" social factors in today's economy that have rendered the concept of 3Vs insufficient:

• Screen-off meeting culture: Let's face it, in many companies, the screen-off practice is an acceptable corporate norm. In communication, this reduces the efficacy of "Visual", a cornerstone in connecting with our audience.

• Bandwidth stability: Not all of us have access to optimal internet connectivity. Either we literally freeze visually or vocally, we go “hello, hello, can you hear me?”. In this situation, all the 3Vs are affected.

• New digital tools: Not everything is lost though. The digital medium has granted us new affordances to play with: Chat function, virtual filters, breakout rooms, poll here and there. With these, we could establish some form of connection to replace those that we have no control over.

So, we propose the following visual representation to explicate the new communication interplay.

In the above illustration, the Verbal component is most important because that's where meaning is most directly brought across. On the other hand, Visual, Vocal and Digital are resources to accentuate meaning reception.

So, what kind of (digital) hacks can we deploy for each of the four areas?

Control the Meaning: Verbal.

1. The KEY point. Since we can't be certain that we'll have our audience's undivided attention (e.g., bandwidth constraint, screen-off culture), our key points have to be sharp, clear, structured, concise and most importantly, fleshed out early and sufficiently. Most speakers take this lightly and they end up taking their audience on a meandering scenic route before the points become clear. Remember that "passivated-audience fatigue" is real. If we don’t flesh out our key points clearly and early enough, we could very well leave our audience behind at the first pitstop.
   

2. The Convincing. Few communities in the world are convinced of arguments based on the purity of rhetoric these days. Yes, rhetorical strategies are important to "sweeten the deal" but in today's empirically-driven world, objective, large-scale, peer reviewed and credibly sourced data speaks a thousand words.
   

3. The Story. This takes us back to rhetorical strategies. While there are many rhetorical tools, storytelling is a fantastic tool to help the audience connect with the brand story. But not everyone is a good storyteller. If you’re developing a story, think about the "eureka-moment" in that story. That's the hook that your audience will mull over after your pitch is done. Also, tell the story over and over again to different groups of people. When we've heard ourselves "declare aloud" repetitively, we make tweaks as we go along. Our stories get refined with each iteration. Also, as the first recipients of our own story, we become convinced ourselves. When that happens, we naturally become more skilled at storytelling - overtime.
   

4. The Questions. Yes, the beauty of asking questions to connect mentally with our audience. So, plan your questions well. You may wish to ask rhetorical questions as a way to seek consensus, ask open-ended questions to invite dialogue or ask closed-ended questions as a quick way to interact with your audience. But don't forget that you control the meaning. So don't let your questions disadvantage you unwittingly.

Connect with Brand: Visual.

1. The Whole of You. A brightened, frontal and shoulder-up view of you is important. If not, there's a lack of brand presence. So, make sure the light source is not behind you and that you occupy a significant central space in the frame. Remember, a strong brand has to have a solid presence.
   

2. The Non-verbal Connection. Ironically, even though we are now less than 1 metre from our audience when we meet online, we feel farther from them than when we meet physically. To re-establish the "warmth" stripped out in an online encounter, our facial expressions have to be animated to convey what we are sensing, our eye contact with the camera light has to be more effortful and our movements (including hand gestures) purposeful to punctuate our verbal messages. Speaking of eye contact, do you realize it’s kinda hard to decide if you should be focus on the faces on your screen or the camera light that’s beckoning? A trick is to re-size the gallery of folks and align them nearer to the camera light so that you won’t be faulted for not maintaining eye contact. And if you have a script, think about crafting it in a list form and using various formatting tools (e.g., bold, underline, font size, italics) to delineate macro from micro points. This beats having a script written in prose. This is because the latter tends to lend itself to the speaker reading from it. This is unlike a list (or outline) where the speaker would be cued to the differentiated levels of information, which helps in punctuating the message appropriately. Also, think about centralizing the script on your screen so that your eyes won’t be moving across the breadth of your screen as you track down your points. It’s visible, trust us.
   

3. The Virtual Background. Indeed, clothes make the man in the past. Would a well-chosen virtual background do the same for us in the digital age? Well, we think that a well-chosen virtual background enhances your brand. Choose one that complements your personal brand and is agreeable with the company's brand that you represent.

Energize with Impact: Vocal.

1. The Energy. Step up on your vocal energy by way of volume, word stress, intonation, pauses or else you will lose your audience to the zzzz monster. Also, the use of a headset would certainly improve the quality of audio. So think about investing in a good set.
   

2. The Tone. Re ready to dial up or down your tone as it suits the mood of the message you're delivering.

Interact with Tools: Digital.

1. The Digital Tools. You know what they are: chat function, poll here and there, thumbs up, annotation. The list goes on. Our advice is to use them selectively as long as they serve a practical function to spruce up your pitch. But like the same advice we gave earlier about over-using rhetorical devices, be purposeful. If not, you could lose control of the meaning and with that, the session as well.

There we have it. In the new era of digital communication, things are constantly in-flux. Social dynamics will continue to shift. But as long as our communication principles are keeping in tandem with these shifts, we just need to adjust communication resources to best support the way meaning is accessed.

Writer

Dr. Katy Kan, wears many hats and is a partner with AGILIT Consultancy LLP. If you’d like to consult with her for communication training and consultation, do drop her a line at katykan@agilitconsultancy.com.sg

Co-Writer Ms. Deepa Pillai is a seasoned Corporate Communications Trainer and Lecturer in Business Communications whose interests include helping her clients become empowered communicators. She is contactable at deepapillai111@gmail.com