An Emmy Award-Winning Broadcast Journalist and the nation’s leading scientific expert on good meetings co-authored the new book, Suddenly Virtual: Making Remote Meetings Work. Their book offers the most comprehensive roadmap to being highly effective and profitable in the age of remote video meetings and hybrid meetings.
Millions of people in the workforce, from top-level CEOs and boards of public companies to executive assistants and entry-level employees have had to make the transition from in-person face-to-face meetings, conferences, and presentations to virtual, video-centric, and hybrid meetings. But do in-person skills translate to good virtual skills?
The book Suddenly Virtual: Making Remote Meetings Work breaks it all down with both anecdotal and scientifically backed techniques and advice for thriving in this new space.
Stanford University’s School of Business has just incorporated the book into their curriculum for their Essentials of Strategic Communication course for their current Spring 2021 semester.
Some of Karin and Joe’s Rules of VIRTUAL Engagement:
Keep. Your. Camera. On. Meetings, where cameras are on, are 25% more effective.
Our new virtual world means a wider pool of applicants for new positions. Expect national competition. The ability to come across well and communicate effectively on camera can make or break life-changing career opportunities.
Looking good on camera is not about vanity. It’s about being respectful of the person or people on the other side of the camera. Much of it is subconscious, but with important ramifications.
Audio and video clarity is paramount. Invest in the right tools.
Don’t relax your level of professionalism just because your current atmosphere is more relaxed.
Leverage your virtual environment to enhance your business relationships. The “How To’s”
Gesturing and other important body language cues can translate differently on camera. How to navigate these differences.
“Zoom Abuse” is a thing. What it is and how to avoid it.
Commit to staying in “conversation mode” and avoid “presenter mode.” Learn the difference.
Rethink your timing and approach. Virtual meetings should be shorter and more purposeful and include only people who absolutely need to be there. Zoom fatigue is real.
About the Authors
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Karin Reed is an Emmy Award-winning former anchorwoman who transitioned into coaching C-Suite level executives in the art of communicating on camera over the last decade and a half. Suddenly Virtual is her second book published by Wiley & Sons Publishing.
Joe Allen, Ph.D. is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Utah, and the world’s leading scientific expert on workplace meetings and organizational community engagement, with more than 100 published articles in academic journals. Joe Allen is also Director for The Center for Meeting Effectiveness. Suddenly Virtual is his first book.
Now that so many of us are able to work from anywhere, remotely, if we want to continue to enjoy those perks, being an effective virtual/on-camera communicator is non-negotiable.
