Impression Management on Video
Impression management is a core component of what we aim to teach at Virtual Sapiens. The way we have designed both in-call nudges and post-call insights is around the various ways in which your audience can perceive you based on your nonverbal behaviors. The three main perception themes are: Perceived Trustworthiness Authority Impression Energy and Expression Perceived Trustworthiness Conveying trustworthiness is one of the most important elements of impactful communication. After all, if someone doesn’t trust you, it’s unlikely they will listen or allow themselves to be influenced by you. According to Dr. Abbie Maroño, Advisor at Virtual Sapiens: “Judgements of trustworthiness are one of the first judgments we make about a person, this is highly automatic and unconscious. We make these judgments in less than a second of seeing a person’s face, and before any verbal interaction has taken place. Judgements of trustworthiness are also made prior to any judgment of confidence, competence, or likability, so as important as these judgements are, we should first focus on how we can appear trustworthy”. Your Sidekick has been designed to help you exhibit markers of trust from a nonverbal communication perspective. This translates to the following metrics: Expression of emotion (Facial expressions and active listening cues) Eye gaze (screen) Hand gestures Check out the video below from Dr. Abbie Marono, on why it is imperative to be aware of, and to develop these markers of trust, from the very first moment and onwards. https://youtu.be/ZUGXrLcKK10 Authority Impression When it comes to Authority Impression, we focus on: Posture Active eye gaze Face Touching Check out the video below on the specific nudges that fall under the category of Authority Impression, and how you can begin to think about leveraging these nonverbal cues to have the effect you want as a professional on video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hr6iqwtCIgQ Energy and Expression The third communication theme at play in the Sidekick is Energy and Expression. This is a category that is very much centered on two things: Alignment between intention and expression Variation in dynamics Engaging meetings all have these two things in common. Whether in-person or virtual, when the speaker(s) is expressing themself congruently with a clearly established intention, the results are much more impactful. Similarly, an engaging speaker understands how to emphasize different points in a given presentation, or discussion with different facial expressions, hand gestures, postures and certain vocal cues. Your Virtual Sapiens Sidekick pays special attention to the perceived energy and expression levels you are generating on any given call. This translates to the following metrics: Facial expression dynamics Posture Face touching (emphasis on head in hand posture) Hand gestures Check out the video below for more on how you can think about ensuring your presence is supported by aligned energy and expression. https://youtu.be/c-jlAQILmO4 Keep in mind, these same nonverbal cues apply for in-person conversations as well! Particularly given the new ‘Power Skills’ for leadership and C-Suite positions as defined by Harvard Business Review, the Sidekick is here to provide the crucial feedback towards unlocking your professional superhero qualities. Having a Sidekick at your disposal is key to always be improving.
The C-Suite Skills That Matter Most
Looking at trends in C-Suite position searches and the most relevant skills, it is refreshing to see a shift towards ‘social skills’. As defined in this recent article by Harvard Business Review: “When we refer to “social skills,” we mean certain specific capabilities, including a high level of self-awareness, the ability to listen and communicate well, a facility for working with different types of people and groups, and what psychologists call “theory of mind”—the capacity to infer how others are thinking and feeling.” The topic of self-awareness is of particular interest to us at Virtual Sapiens as it is one of the first things our users notice improving while using our in-call Sidekick for feedback on their virtual presence. Self-awareness is developed through feedback. Getting feedback consistently, especially in a virtual environment, is a gap in many professionals’ continued development. Given these are the skills that are increasingly being attributed to strong leadership and C-suite positions, tools that provide quality feedback with a focus on communication must be leveraged. Read the full article on HBR here.
Special Guest Interview with Alicia Berruti – BombBomb
We tend to view video meetings as a reality of the pandemic. However, video as a tool for communicating in the workplace, was around long before the Pandemic simply accelerated this trend. BombBomb, an asynchronous video messaging platform, has been a champion of the power of video since 1998! You can imagine my delight in getting to sit down with BombBomb National Speaker Alicia Berruti to get her take on the real power of video moving forward and how to get comfortable being yourself on video. Check it out:) https://youtu.be/V-rS6ZN1XJ8
Special Guest Post – 4 Tips for Hosting Virtual Events People Actually Want to Attend
A special welcome to Meisha Bochicchio, Senior Content Marketing Manager at Goldcast! We are thrilled to have her advice on how to host a virtual event people actually want to attend:) —- When’s the last time you attended a virtual presentation or event? This week? Maybe even today? Virtual events are now ubiquitous in the business world. Whether you’re hosting an internal kickoff for employees or a virtual conference for your industry, knowing how to capture and keep an audience’s attention is critical. But in a world of overflowing inboxes and crowded social feeds, how can you break through the noise? And how can you make sure your event registrants actually turn into event attendees? If these struggles resonate, you’re in luck. We’ve got four quick tips for hosting virtual events people actually want to attend. Tip #1. Get people excited before the event If you wait until the day of your event to light the fire, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity! Most professionals are overwhelmed with priorities and distractions. Getting them to click on your event when the time rolls around is going to take some effort—but don’t let that scare you. Here are three ways you can build excitement before your virtual event: Video invite: Have your event host, or a speaker, record a short event invite video that you can use across email and social media. It doesn’t need to be fancy—even a simple talking-head style video will work wonders. Calendar hold: The best way to keep your event top-of-mind? Use a registration platform that automatically places a hold on the registrant’s calendar. That way, it’s harder for scheduling conflicts to arise, and they see it every time they open their calendar. Reminder emails: Reminder emails are a critical tool for getting registrants into an event. But boring reminder emails are a dime a dozen. Keep reminder emails simple but give folks a reason to open them. Tease new speakers or sessions, host a pre-event giveaway contest, or include a few of those video invites we just mentioned to get folks excited for the big day. Tip #2. Go live feeling energized and confident A good presenter should capture attention early and get folks excited for what’s to come! The first few seconds of your virtual presentation are key. If your speaker falls flat, you could quickly lose the attention of viewers, which can impact engagement, and even time, spent with your session. We appreciate that presenting can be nerve-wracking. And many folks that get roped into presenting might not love the idea of being on-camera or getting in front of a crowd. Or, they are super passionate about the topic but aren’t seasoned presenters—yet. Help your hosts and speakers shake off the jitters and boost their confidence with a little virtual training before your event. Tools like Virtual Sapiens can help with just that! Their handy sidekick is like a virtual coach that helps speakers improve their presenting skills. The tool checks things like video setup to ensure optimal presenting conditions, body language so that speakers connect with the audience, and vocal cues to deliver talk tracks with energy and confidence. A small investment in virtual coaching can dramatically improve event performance. Plus, you’re investing not just in your event but also in your team, helping them feel more confident during all of their virtual presentations. Tip #3. Ditch the slides—try different content formats Just because you’re hosting a virtual event or webinar doesn’t mean you’re constrained to the “traditional” presentation format. While slides can be helpful, especially for demonstrating concepts that require visuals, there are so many other options! Pre-recorded video content and audio clips are great ways to add variety and interest to presentations without the dreaded “slide wall.” Switching between content formats also keeps attendees on their toes and adds structure to different sections. For example, you might have a fireside chat intro, a few slides to set the scene, a poll to get a pulse check on what attendees think, some video content to showcase examples, and then end with another chat to bring everything home. If you do use different formats, try keeping each section to 10 minutes or less to break up the monotony and re-engage the audience. Just be mindful not to go overboard with too much back and forth. Context switching can overwhelm your audience and cause them to lose focus. When in double, keep it simple, and choose just a few formats to use during your presentation. Speaking of engagement… Tip #4. Engage the audience throughout the presentation More than just a buzzword, event engagement is critical for keeping your audience active during presentations. Start with an interactive icebreaker to get folks engaged early. Try throwing out a question related to the event session. Or, keep it super light by sharing fun facts about the speakers in a “two truths and a lie” format. Be sure to remind attendees that you want to hear from them. Invite them to participate in the chat, and be sure you have someone monitoring and responding to comments. You could also invite folks to join you on stage for a live video Q&A if your event platform supports it. If your session allows, prompt the audience for direct feedback. For example, you could host a mini-brainstorm session using audience ideas. Finally, consider gamifying engagement. Gamification incentivizes attendees to become active participants in your event. This often involves game-like features, like earning points for completing activities and a leaderboard. There are usually prizes or giveaways involved for the most active participants. — Hungry for more? Check out these tips for at-home virtual event speakers for more pointers on prepping your event crew.
Special Guest Interview – Tips For At-Home Virtual Event Speakers
In our first special guest interview our CEO, Rachel Cossar, speaks with Mia Masson, Head of Content at Swapcard. At Virtual Sapiens, we are all about helping professionals get the most out of their virtual meetings and events. What we love about Swapcard, is their dedication to providing audiences across the globe with the highest level impact event experience with a special focus on at-home audiences. As we are seeing the virtual component continue to embed itself within our future, it is crucial to think about how we can make virtual events feel more real for at-home audiences and as at-home presenters. Check out the two short videos where Mia shares her thoughts. Question 1: With so many virtual events feeling ‘the same’, what can we do to make our virtual meeting or event pop? Key Takeaways: Have a dedicated Emcee for your digital audience Tailor content to create a a VIP viewing experience If you can swing it…send out some SWAG! Question 2: What can at-home presenters do to both show up professionally, without it feeling over-produced? Ket Takeaways: Remember you are speaking at this event for a reason! Be yourself and don’t be afraid to have a ‘human moment’ Of course – structure your content clearly and with concrete takeaways A HUGE thank you to Mia for her time and sharing her expertise with us. Please check out Swapcard for any of your ‘smart event’ needs!
Where To Look, And When, On Video
One of the hardest habits to rewire when it comes to connecting over video, is where to look…and when. While many of us know we should look into the lens, the crucial detail we often neglect is the core difference between whether you are the active speaker, or not. The golden rule for eye gaze on video (and the way we have built our eye gaze thresholds at Virtual Sapiens) is: 👀 Look into the lens when you are the active speaker. 👀 Look at the screen (and yes, this can be at the other participants!) when you are the active listener. The reasons behind this logic are simple, and backed by nonverbal and neurological research recently confirmed by Stanford University’s Virtual Interactive Lab. Our eye gaze is a core nonverbal cue we depend upon as humans when it comes to understanding someone’s intent and emotional state. We look to someone’s eye gaze to determine trust – a HUGELY important factor in professional conversations. On video, if we are the active speaker, that is to say, we are the one who is sharing information, we have an imperative to clearly share the fullest impact of our message. On video, the best way to do this, is to look into the lens when talking. Since the lens aligns with the audience’s perspective, we can ensure our audience is seeing all that we have to offer as a communicator in that moment. In this way, we can more easily share confidence, we can share happiness, sadness and even anger. Conversely, if we are speaking and looking at someone’s image on the screen (especially if the direction of our eyes is downcast, or off to the side), we appear distant from our message. Our audience gets a less direct, less accurate and more scattered representation of how we may feel about a certain message. On video, we do not want to leave any room for uncertainty if we can help it. Looking into the lens when we are the active speaker helps us get our message across with more impact. Now, if you are an active listener, that is, not the one speaking in a given moment, you can feel free to look at your screen and the person who is speaking. This helps you better digest their message, especially if they are themselves looking into the lens (Which they should be). Two important things to note: If you are the active speaker, do not stare, unblinkingly into the lens. In short, this comes across as unsettling, and creepy. It is too intense an experience for the viewer, so be sure to keep your blink rate natural If you are listening, ensure your participants faces are as centered and close to the lens as possible. This allows the speakers in the group to feel more heard and seen when talking since you won’t be looking completely off to the side. Again, this can produce an unsettling feeling for others on the call. Although this all may sound unatural at first glance, the effects are incredibly powerful. When a speaker looks directly into the lens, as an audience, we feel seen. As a speaker, you can know that your message is landing with the utmost impact. By using Virtual Sapiens Sidekick, you can train yourself to look into the lens appropriately with our updated nudges:) Try it out for yourself today!
Staying Present With Sidekick In Internal Meetings
Every Monday our team has a standing meeting to discuss the plan for the week and any roadblocks that may be in the way. We also have a daily checkin to touch base on what people are working on and to collaboratively solve problems. We always use video in these meetings, and we always have our Sidekick running. Standing meetings like this are very common and are a highly valuable moment of live connection with your team. I hear very often that professionals don’t feel they need to show up with too much professionalism, or to follow best practices in these meetings because they are ‘casual’. …. Respectfully, we disagree. For any event where participants are spending their real, live, waking moments interacting either in person, or via video – these. moments. matter. And while we can defend and even welcome an air of being casual, ‘casual’ can still be professional. The way we show up from a nonverbal perspective, reflects the respect we have for one another’s time. In one such standing meeting on a Monday morning, I was having trouble staying focused. Instead of thinking ‘well, it’s just an internal meeting, so it doesn’t really matter’, I had the Sidekick help me stay alert, energized and importantly, to show my teammates that I am actively listening to them. I thought I would share my post-call summary with you all, and offer a commentary on the results. Check out the video below…I scored high because my Sidekick was there to gently support me in staying present. Especially as I was not the main active speaker, these prompts were so helpful in keeping me on track. While our Sidekick is great for those super high pressure moments and first time sales calls, our Sidekick is also a powerful tool in helping you show up your best for your team mates. Because at the end of the day, it’s the relationships you create with your team that build real sustainability into your company. Try Sidekick out for yourself – with a free trial!
How to Make Video Meetings Feel More Real
At the start of the pandemic, Harvard Business Review included a segment on their Christine Vs. Work series on how to make video meetings feel more real. It’s normal to feel a bit strange to talk at your computer multiple times a day, and certainly our pets are still a bit concerned about this possession. However, these moments are in fact ‘real.’ They involve 3D humans on the other end and we do rely on these meetings to drive serious impact across and beyond our organizations. So…how can you make these video moments feel more real? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zchEneW2890&t=4s Do a Quick Review Before Each Meeting It can often feel like we are on one long video call all day. Virtually, we don’t have the luxury of walking to someone’s office, or meeting in the conference room. We are in the same physical space all day long. We need to create differentiation before each meeting, so that they feel different from one another. Before joining a meeting, take a moment to remind yourself what is unique or different about this meeting compared to the one before it. Remind yourself who will be in the meeting, where did you leave off last and most importantly, what is your intention or goal for this meeting? Ground yourself in the answers to these questions – different meetings can elicit different physiological responses in our bodies – use this to help you keep meetings distinct. Remember the 3D Reality Yes – a screen is 2D. You and your audience are not. There are two things you can do to beef up the 3D nature of your video calls: Tune into your own physical environment and surroundings. Do you have a calm and focused workspace or are there distractions that can too easily keep you from your conversations? Do everything you can to set yourself up for focused work by starting with your physical environment. Check out our article here on physical office hacks. Imagine what your audience’s 3D environments might be like. Remind yourself that they also have a rich experience on the other end, that they are more than a 2D representation. One fun way to bring this to life in a meeting is by inviting people to share one thing that is close to them that brings them joy. Whether it be a photo on their desk, or an object in their background. Close Down Your Self-View Over and over, professionals are having trouble with their self-view. One of the most unnatural things about video calls, is that we have a mirror image of ourselves, that is live, moving and expressing. You don’t have to be vain to spend a significant amount of time looking at your own self-image. When we are looking at ourselves, we are de facto, not looking at our audience. We lose sight of them in our minds and we miss out on their own rich communication cues, particularly nonverbal cues. At this stage, most video platforms have a way to hide your self-view, without removing your video entirely. Of course, we recommend having your setup solid and a strong enough level of awareness so that you can confidently stay present and engaged without having to ‘check’ yourself. Lucky for you, we have a solution for that here at Virtual Sapiens:) In the end, as Christine Liu says, it can sometimes feel like we are on the Moon when we are in a video call. But the fact of the matter is, you are very much in the real world. Tuning in to your personal reality, remembering there are many other 3D humans on the other end and taking some time to remove distractions (the worst offender beyond your own self-image), will all help make your video meetings feel more real.
The Power of Small, Daily Nudges
Sustained improvement, the kind that sticks, never happens over night. In fact, it is often difficult to see just how much we are improving because unless someone, or something, is monitoring our progress, the improvements happen incrementally, little by little, over time. While we may want to experience (and display) massive improvements just like that, the reality is often quite different. As authors like James Clear (Atomic Habits) have noted, the keys to success lie in the consistency of small habits, compounded over time, that end up feeding massive improvement and change in the long run. In his own words, Clear supports building new habits and improvements by making them “obvious, attractive, easy and satisfying”. As a dancer, I can attest to this. It would often be very frustrating to be working at improving the same element of a movement for weeks on end, until someone who hadn’t witnessed the daily efforts comes over and is amazed by the seemingly drastic change. At Virtual Sapiens, we are firm believers in two things: That habits can be intentionally rewired over time That consistent and intentional practice is the key to sustained improvement The way we see it, if you are on frequent video calls, you might as well use them as an opportunity for applied practice. Our Sidekick product, which got some great attention last week in the Boston Globe, is built on such beliefs. The Sidekick provides gentle and consistent nudges so you can course correct ‘in the act’, building muscle memory around core elements of communication and presence on video. We make improving your communication and presence obvious and attractive by layering our feedback directly on top of your already happening video meetings. Your feedback is simple, personal and actionable. Dare we say…it may even be satisfying, to finally get the feedback you need to sustainably improve your communication and presence in important video meetings. Your lives as professionals are loaded! We want to meet you where you are, providing you with the small nudges, multiple times a day that can eventually turn into completely revamped habits. With our nudge technology, we make getting those reps in a natural part of your meeting day. Your daily meetings become your very own communication gym, with real-time feedback and coaching that most often comes at a massive premium (both financially and time wise). Our new world of work presents challenges, but also opportunities. We are all for leveraging available technology so we can all connect better, online. If you haven’t yet tried out the Sidekick, try it out on a free trial today!
How Framing Affects Posture Affects Impression
Telling someone they should fix their posture usually results in an automatic eye roll. It takes us back to our childhood or teenage years when our parents, teachers, or even the odd stranger would tell us to “‘sit up straight!’ and ‘put your shoulders back!’ Telling someone they need to fix their framing…well that will almost certainly result in a completely perplexed expression. Framing? I’ve literally NEVER had to consider framing in any professional context. Even on video, shouldn’t my words be strong enough to make my framing irrelevant? WRONG. While it can be easy to discount the importance of posture in real life, it can be even easier to discount the importance of framing and posture in the virtual world. Yet these elements remain two of the most common issues our Sidekick picks up during calls. And they are related too. In the virtual world, our framing and posture translate immediately into body language cues sent to our audience. If your framing is off, your posture is likely to be off as well. For example, when your lens is too low (a very common mistake) you will be looking down at your screen, where your audience is. By taking the weight of your head off of its axis and stooping towards the screen, you place an exponentially larger strain on your neck. (Hello i-Hump!) This framing and posture combo translates into a poor body language impression for your audience. Similarly, if your lens angle is off, only your head will be showing. This means we are missing out on the benefit of your full body posture, and head gestures. Video is the only digital means of communicating a full message, one which includes the nuance of our tone and our body language. Don’t do yourself a disservice and silence a core part of your impact as a communicator. As you can see in the above pictures, the way we set ourselves up and the way we hold ourselves sends a strong message of our overall professional brand. See how our bodies send strong messages, without the use of any words? In a visual, video based context, our words are rarely louder than our bodies. While building the Sidekick, we intentionally built in a pre-call check, so you can set yourself (and your posture) up for success. We also show the framing nudge first because, once again, if your framing is off, that is likely the root cause of some of the other issues. Fix your framing, you may well fix your posture, your eye gaze, your use of hand gestures and so on. Once again, good framing, leads to good posture leads to a strong impression on our audience. In short, poor framing and poor posture lead to a poor impression sent directly to your audience. Don’t start a call from a point of weakness. Go the extra small distance, and nail your framing set up first – your audience will thank you, and it makes for a much more human connection in the end. Our Sidekick is available with a free trial here – install yours now!