How To Account For Cultural Nuance Over Video
In communication training, cultural context is always a factor to consider. Over video, since we aren’t entering a room, shaking hands, bowing or kissing, how do we account for cultural nuance? Does it even matter? While we may think that cultural nuance in communication is erased over video…this simply is not the case. In this gem of a video, Dr. Abbie Marono is asked to explain how we can think about cultural nuance and context in nonverbal communication over video specifically. Dr. Marono explains the difference between universal nonverbals, which we have collectively evolved to understand and express as a human race. Things like open palm gestures as a sign of peace and non-threat, smiling as a sign of happiness, there are many nonverbals that we can depend on when we are communicating with other cultures. What is truly fascinating, and a topic that is as deep as it is rich, is the nuance culture brings to the table. Differences in head movements to signal agreement, happiness or excitement for example. Or specific hand gestures that mean different things tied to specific cultures. These are all learned, and not necessarily universal. These are the nonverbal cues we want to develop a vocabulary and awareness around when we are communicating across culture – especially over video. https://youtu.be/EUBDTlQjM7w One of my favorite examples is the ‘head wiggle’ or ‘head wobble’ in Indian cultures. This demonstrates agreement and the vigor with which the head is wiggling, signifies the level of agreement and enthusiasm. A simple head nod in this case, might not resonate, but a head wobble…well, now we are talking! As Dr. Marono suggests in the video below, it is always wise to pay attention to different cultural cues, whether on video or in person. A small behavior can go a long way when developing rapport and trust. Our technology at Virtual Sapiens is designed around universal nonverbal cues. We specifically don’t get too nuanced around gesticulation and biases that might contradict across cultures. When you are next on a global call, see if you can do a bit or research ahead of time and spot in realtime some of the culturally specific behaviors.
Positivity Bias in Nonverbal Cues – Are You a Culprit?
Positivity Bias is a term that can be applied to many circumstances, people and contexts wherein an unwarranted bias is made towards what is perceived as ‘positive’, or ‘optimistic’. In nonverbal communication, we see a lot of positivity bias, both when we observe feedback being provided (either by humans or AI) and when we observe feedback being received. In recent conversations, this positivity bias appeared very pronounced around facial expression, and active listening. At Virtual Sapiens, we work diligently to avoid falling into the traps of positivity bias. For example, when we look at facial expressions, we are not providing feedback and scoring based on how many times you smile. (⚠️Beware of other AI feedback tools that do just this!⚠️) Similarly, ‘active listening cues’ for us, are not limited to head nods. Active listening ≠ Agreement. Instead, we look for cues that show someone you are considering what they are saying, engaged and present as a listener. What is fascinating for us to observe is the way some of our users digest feedback with a positivity bias. For instance, when receiving feedback on their facial expression variation, some user interpret this as ‘oh, I need to smile more’. When in fact, all of our copy, feedback and suggestions point towards develop the muscles around dynamic facial expressions, in general. Expressing interest is very different from breaking into a big smile, and in many professional cases can be a powerful way of showing someone you are engaged and value what they are sharing with you. Positivity bias is a tricky thing, because, as with most biases, people are largely unaware of it, and will filter through information looking for what they expect to see. Our tips to you: ❗ Start to develop an awareness around your own expressions of positivity bias. Having a dynamic presence is not just about agreeing with people and smiling. It is a much more complex and personal experience. ❗ When receiving feedback, pay attention to what is actually being said, not what you assume may be intended. ❗When giving feedback, be wary of leaning towards positive-only cues, and ensure you are providing well-rounded and nuanced feedback that empowers choice and authenticity. So what do you think? Are you a culprit?
Top Video Hack – Hiding Your Self-View
In a recent workshop I led focused on Executive Virtual Presence, a participant brought up one of my favorite questions: “What is your opinion on hiding your self-view during video calls? Should we do it, or not?” ✨ My answer, unequivocally. YES. DO hide your self-view. ✨ And here’s why: We are not accustomed to seeing a real-time feedback display of what we look like in a conversation. The effort it takes us to not look at ourselves when we are so obviously and dynamically displayed is a losing battle. If someone were to hold up a mirror in an in-person conversation, we would spend a significant percentage of the time looking at ourselves there too…or at least, spending a ton of mental energy trying not to. Having the self-view enabled can feel comforting, ‘at least now I can catch myself in the act of doing something silly or embarrassing’. But that’s simply not the case. Even with self-view enabled, we quickly become accustomed to how we look, and most of the time, we don’t have the self-awareness to pick out how we might show up and communicate more effectively. Here are a few other reasons to hide your self-view during video calls:💪 Increase connection: You can focus 100% of your mental energy and concentration on the non-verbals of others on the call. Those you are trying to really connect with.💪 Reduce Zoom fatigue: Research shows time and time again that having self-view enabled increases the feelings of exhaustion we experience when on video calls throughout the day. 💪 Develop real awareness: By depending on self-view to ensure you ‘aren’t making a fool out of yourself’, you are distancing yourself from building new awareness and muscle memory around effective video presence behaviors. While watching a recording can be helpful, trying to decipher effective and non-effective behaviors via self-view analysis realtime on a call creates mental overload. Thus, we begin to depend on our self-view far more than is healthy, or helpful. But how do I do this? You might be wondering…check out the below 30 second video that demonstrates how to hide your self-view in Google Meet and Zoom. https://youtube.com/shorts/otuce_02vj0 I usually leave everyone with the following caveat about hiding your self-view: Take it slow at first. Start with your self-view enabled to build up some confidence around where you are showing up in the frame, and ensuring all looks good from the beginning. Then start getting more and more courageous in hiding your self-view earlier and earlier in the call. Eventually, you can get to the point of doing a quick pre-call check to confirm your lighting and framing are ideal (which our Sidekick can do for you anytime!) and then off you go, connecting and conversing in a powerful way, without getting distracted by yours truly. What do you think? Are you game?
The Best Way To Interpret AI Facilitated Coaching
In this week’s AMA, Dr. Marono and I discuss the best mindsets to use when receiving and applying AI-facilitated coaching. As more and more AI coaching softwares present themselves, it’s important to be diligent in your selection process. As Dr. Marono and I discuss in the below video, there are many AI companies out there who lack real scientific rigor in the way they apply their models, providing inaccurate and often times irrelevant feedback. We are grateful to have Dr. Marono’s sharp eye as an additional watch dog keeping our insights and metrics aligned with the most up to date, peer-reviewed research. It is also critical to keep in mind that when AI delivers feedback, it is still up to you to interpret the results and decide how you would like to apply the feedback towards improved behaviors. At Virtual Sapiens, we take great care to ensure that we are not providing feedback that is too restrictive. We don’t want to prescribe specific actions, but rather, we want to help our users reflect on their behaviors and apply our feedback in a way that feels authentic. In this way, we can ensure our metrics are accurate, and directionally correct. Check out the full conversation below! https://youtu.be/ZRVDwNgtuQg
How AI and Humans Interact – Amplification…or Replacement?
At a recent documentary film festival, AI was a big topic of conversation. While a lot of uncertainty exists around exactly how AI will continue to evolve and interact with humans, a few specific questions are on everyone’s minds… In this week’s Ask Me Anything, Dr. Marono and I take a slightly deeper dive into the following question: Could AI Replace Humans in Relationship Driven Roles? The answers are nuanced, taking to light where we are with the technology today, where we aren’t yet, and also, where we might go. While it’s easier to see how AI could replace certain more technical or content oriented tasks, it is even scarier to consider how AI might grow into more relationship driven tasks, which require a much higher level of accuracy, understanding of context and idiosyncratic/interpersonal dynamics. Already we see conversational AI being applied to chat bots that are increasingly personalized and human-like. In some cases, as seen with Replika AI users and with the Human-like robot, Sophia, the future doesn’t seem so far off. Check our conversation out and let us know what you think about the future of AI and human interaction! https://youtu.be/1eIrCl5t3KU
AMA: How AI Can Be Used To Coach Body Language
AI is slinging insights left and right – but almost all of the insights are based on what is being said. We have a fresh new series of Ask Me Anything videos with myself and Dr. Marono. In our first video of this series, we are digging into how AI and body language/behavioral communication interact from a coaching perspective. For us at Virtual Sapiens, we are extremely focused on the ‘why’ behind the insights our AI reveals. The need to be clear about the ‘so what’ has never been more important. Whether the AI is picking up on what is being said, or how, the coaching application means this AI will likely end up influencing the way we behave. The only way to do this well, is if we understand how different behaviors influence ourselves, and our audiences. Similarly, supporting insights backed by real science empower the user with education around why they should even care. Check out this short video explaining how AI can be applied to provide coaching and feedback on your body language and nonverbals, and what we keep in mind at Virtual Sapiens. (BONUS! I also mention the difference between AI and Machine Learning…for the nerdier bunch out there 😊 ) https://youtu.be/rcRi4mxcLu0 Try some AI body language coaching out for free. Start with our Assessment Free Trial.
How To Use AI As A Coach – Sales Hacker Guest Post
Over the past couple of months, the increasing presence and applications of AI have sent many minds for a spin. Many professionals I have spoken with are desperately trying to understand the connection between AI and human interaction. For some, this new technology can feel especially threatening. For others, it can feel incredibly exciting, unlocking whole new worlds of possibility. At Virtual Sapiens, we believe there is magic to be had when AI and humans interact, working together each with their strengths, to overcome certain weaknesses. One application of AI highlights this possibility quite clearly – and that is in using AI as an aid to coach at scale. I teamed up with Sales Hacker, a dynamic community with over 60,000 sales professionals, to dig a little deeper into the ‘how’ of using AI as a coach, from a sellers and sales manager’s perspective. Imagine the power of using AI as a tool, not to replace sales professionals and sales managers, but to support them in the ongoing need for personalized coaching and feedback, delivered consistently and without bias, across sales teams. Now that is 🤯 🤯 🤯 Check out the full scope here. ***And yes, that image was created by Dall-E 😜***
New Study Backs The Power of Nonverbals on Video
More research is being done everyday to support greater efficiency in our new world of work. As we know intuitively, communication is at the core of any successful business. Whether this communication is happening in person, over video, or a combination of both, a clear understanding of how to communicate effectively is essential. Business Insider released a new study led by BetterUp’s Lead Scientist, Andrew Reece. This study goes into a deep dive of the platform’s 1:1 coaching conversations, all happening over video, studying the impact of different nonverbals (both body language and vocal) during video calls. Our work at Virtual Sapiens is built on the shoulders of behavioral science, anthropology and the increasing amount of new research that focuses specifically on interactions over video. One finding from this study jumped out at me immediately, and it revolves around ‘active listening’. This includes nods, head shakes, head tilts. It includes various changes in emotion and expressivity as well as certain vocal bursts (mhmm, ahs, ohs etc.). Our focus on the back and forth elements of conversation set us apart from other AI coaches which bias towards the behaviors of the user as active speaker only. On video, vocal bursts can be hard to pick up on since the audio typically focuses on the primary speaker. Our body language on the other hand, is on display consistently. This means it is a powerful way to build trust, rapport, and likeability on video: “Better-rated conversationalists nodded “yes” 4% more often and shook their heads “no” 3% more often. They were not “merely cheerful listeners who nod supportively,” the researchers note, but were instead making “judicious use of nonverbal negations.” Translation: An honest and well-timed no will score you more points than an insincere yes. Good conversationalists are those who appear more engaged in what their partners are saying.“ This study also found no evidence to support the assumptions that people dislike zoom itself. We also believe this to be true. When people understand the skills required to be an engaging conversationalist and speaker on video, this channel can be energizing and help people feel more connected. This stands true when you think about past video calls that were energizing, that left you feeling excited and more connected. If video calls were de facto as exhausting as some people assume, we certainly wouldn’t continue to invest in this space and certainly more of us would be back in the office, and traveling around to meet everyone in person. In conclusion, our work at Virtual Sapiens continues to become more and more relevant as we move away from the trauma of the Pandemic, and further into a renewed world of work. One wherein we are fluent as communicators both in person, and over video. Leveraging each channel for what they are strongest at – with the overall goal of building a more connected and efficient world. Get started now with a free assessment!
Why Your Height Doesn’t Matter On Video
Height is often one of the first things we pick up on when meeting someone in person for the first time. Historically, height has often been associated with higher levels of power (which we can see influencing the wearing of heels or platforms for both men and women throughout history). In fact, even in recent years, some leaders go so far as having a painful surgery to increase their leg length to acquire more height. Today however, it is not uncommon to meet someone in person, only after you have already formed an initial impression of them virtually. In many ways, video can be a great equalizer in professional meetings. Everyone gets the same ‘square’ of visual real estate, no one sits at the ‘head of the table’ and since we can adjust the lens to frame ourselves fully whether we are on the shorter or taller side, our actual height becomes irrelevant on video. Now – while height itself is not a factor on video, framing is. And the way we frame ourselves matters significantly. When you think about your virtual setup, consider the following aspects: Lens height (at eye level) Lens distance (not too far and not too close) Lens alignment (ensuring your head is in the upper third of the lens, not in the middle) The way you frame yourself can place you at an advantage visually, or at a disadvantage. It is critical to get your framing right. There are many times when I’ve met someone in person who is taller than they make themselves seem on video. And there are times when I’ve met someone in person who is considerably smaller than I would have anticipated. While it is always a powerful thing to eventually meet someone in person, there are SERIOUS benefits to developing an initial relationship over video. There is a lot that rests within your control, and as we know, first impressions matter a lot. Take 5 minutes to run through one of our free assessments to see what areas of virtual presence you might be able to improve during your next virtual introduction – and pay special attention to your framing!
The Economist Picks Up On Virtual Presence
At Virtual Sapiens, we spend a lot of time demonstrating the value and power in investing in your team’s (and your own) virtual presence awareness and skills. The Economist recently came out with with an article focused on ‘Virtual/Screen Presence’ as a competitive advantage in the modern workplace. It is indicative of people starting to understand this critical new competency that there is an article dedicated to it in an outlet like The Economist. This article has a paywall, but the gist can be summed up in this quote from the article: “Since video has become more central to work, it pays to be good at it. Being a star in the video age means having the right set-up, speaking well and listening well. Workers can improve under their own steam, but companies can help, too.” One important point to highlight here, is the emphasis on companies doing their part to invest in supporting their employees in developing a new skill set around communicating effectively on video. Currently, there are a number of assumptions floating around that really get in the way of powerful remote work practices and expectations. For instance, assuming ‘people are experts on video now’, or ‘everyone is used to and feels comfortable on video now’… In addition to these assumptions, there is an absence of clear and well thought out policies for how to use video, and when. Not to mention, there is a tendency to view certain coaching in this space as a ‘nice to have’ instead of a ‘need to have’. In line with all communication and sales training firms that have evolved to meet the challenge of remote work, it is imperative to invest in building skills and awareness around communicating and connecting over video. We’ve said it before, and I will say it again, the companies and teams who recognize this, and who invest either in person-to-person coaching, or some of the leading AI tools in this space (like yours truly), will find themselves at a significant advantage as masters of the virtual room. ‘Today’ is always a good time to take a look at what’s on offer – we start with a free trial to assess the current skill level, and provide personalized coaching options to get everyone the feedback and reinforcement they need. Check in with us or try yours for yourself today – don’t wait until you get left behind!