The Key to Successful Remote Communication

With the Covid-19 pandemic ongoing, the move to an online workplace has become widespread. But, as many organizations are learning, managing the flow of communication among remote teams is tricky.

It is okay to be quiet

Human communication is naturally sporadic, in that it involves periods of high activity followed by periods of little to none. Research suggests that such bursts of rapid-fire communications, with longer periods of silence in between, are hallmarks of successful teams. Those silent periods are when team members often form and develop their ideas — deep work that may generate the next steps in a project or the solution to a challenge faced by the group. Bursts, in turn, help to focus energy, develop ideas, and achieve closure on specific questions, thus enabling team members to move on to the next challenge.

Less is more

The diversity of information we communicate is critical for effective communication. Diversity in teams also plays an important role, because it facilitates the exchange of a greater diversity of information, which in turn boosts team performance. Each piece of communication should focus on a small set of topics because that creates more information diversity across messages. Small chunks of information help focus the mind and declutter communications.

Better synched

Video conferencing is not always beneficial for effective communication. When we meet and work together in person, visual synchrony — notably, facial expression — paired with vocal synchrony, leads to harmonized interpersonal communication. That’s how people know when it’s appropriate to speak without interrupting, or how a group understands it has collectively agreed to a solution. Sometimes not having access to visual cues, as is the case in audio-only calls, actually increases equality in speaking time. In many cases, what this means is that audio-only remote meetings can be more effective.

Whenever teams are apart physically, employers should work to foster information diversity, establish periods of deep work without interruption, and tailor the use of audio and video technologies to meet the needs of particular interactions. Such practices will help drive remote teams’ performance in our emerging new normal. For more information on improving your organisation’s communication book a demo.