Set the stage for successful virtual communications

Who among us could have predicted that in 2020 a pandemic would move most of us out of our workplaces and into our homes? And, more surprisingly, who would have guessed that for many of us working from home would become permanent?

Amid reeling from the plethora of pandemic-produced changes we must now reinvent how we communicate. We must identify ‘what we don’t know that we don’t know’ about meeting, presenting and conversing virtually. We must assess what we need to learn — and take swift action to become skillful online communicators.

As a media trainer I recognized adapting broadcasting practices to the context of online-based business communications would lead to engaging meetings and presentations. On-camera communications make us akin to amateur broadcasters. Our set-ups (lighting, background, camera, sound) are our studios. Additionally, we must become adept at communicating visually, verbally and vocally inside the box – which is our electronic device’s screen.