Why Spatial Awareness Still Matters Over Video
One of my favorite nonverbal cues to keep an eye out for is called ‘proxemics’, more commonly known as spatial awareness. While many of us are familiar with the importance of respecting spatial awareness in person (ahem…6 ft please!), many of us completely throw this knowledge out the window once we find ourselves staring at a screen. There are four categories of proxemics we are familiar with in person: Public (25ft-12ft) Social (12ft-4ft) Personal (4ft – 1.5ft) Intimate (1.5ft-0cm) So what happens when you can’t meet in person?? The short answer – you have to treat your lens as though it is a person. By and large, we have poor habits around screens and tend to get closer than we need to. Being too close to the screen causes discomfort for our audience because it: Forces them into intimate territory with someone we likely don’t know Exaggerates any facial expressions as though they are under a magnifying glass. For example, I recently participated in a two-day virtual training. One of the facilitators spent the entire time with his face so close to the screen, staring into the lens without blinking that I felt incredibly threatened and kept wanting to look away. Check out these common mistakes that relate to spatial awareness with your lens… On video, you want to maintain a distance of at least 2 feet between your sternum and the back of your screen. Something more like this: Our Pre-Call Check in the Sidekick Whether you want to call this spatial awareness or simply, ‘framing’ is up to you. But it is a challenging thing to build awareness around. Framing is one of the metrics we provide feedback on with our Virtual Sapiens Sidekick. Whether your lens is too high, too low, uncentered, too close or too far, we have your back. Access a free trial of your very own Sidekick here.
Quality Over Quantity – Leverage the Benefits of Video Without Burning Out
A hot topic over the past few months has been how to keep remote teams feeling connected, without a deluge of inefficient meetings. As an understandable consequence of the work-from-home orders from early 2020, many organizations and teams have developed an over-reliance on video in meetings. Regardless as to the nature of the meeting, videos can often become the default. And now people are burnt out. It may come as a shock to hear us suggest that perhaps not all meetings need to be on video… But it’s true. Just as in the pre-pandemic times, an in-person meeting could have been a phone call, or even an email, in our new remote/hybrid reality, we need to be even more intentional about the way we organize our internal and external interactions. Consider the below as you continue to evolve your communication strategies. Adopt an Intentional Meeting Guide for your Company One of the biggest issues to surface with remote meetings is the uncertainty around whether people should be on video, or not…and if so, for how long. Assumptions are being made based on who is on video instead of there being a clear expectation communicated beforehand. A structure I have seen work well with clients: Company wide updates: Video on for the welcome and any breakouts. Videos required for presenters, optional for audience. Small team meetings: Video on Working 1:1s – phone calls or audio-only screen shares. Client meetings: VIDEO ALWAYS ON. By communicating these expectations clearly before the meeting, you provide your team members with the highest level of preparedness. You also open the door for feedback/questions or concerns. If there is no clarity, there can be no alignment. This results in a huge loss of time, impact and energy. Think Quality Over Quantity As a general rule – quality over quantity is key when it comes to video meetings. You can ensure quality by ensuring everyone: Is on the same page with expectations (as noted above) Is equipped with tech that supports video (strong internet, good lighting and office tools, check out our hacks here) Feels confident in their communication skills (Hello Virtual Sapiens Sidekick!) Particularly for new hires, it is essential to set your people up for success. As we have all come to experience, there are some video meetings or presentations that are surprisingly good. They leave us feeling more connected than before, more knowledgeable, we’ve managed to innovate, collaborate and be inspired. These benefits are all possible over video. But they are unlikely if there is no intention in the way video meetings are organized and structured across an organization. At Virtual Sapiens, we strongly believe in the power of video communication. We believe there is a strong human element in seeing your colleagues, meeting and partnering with clients and customers. We also believe that developing these skills takes time and effort. And we are here to help! Be sure to sign up for early access to our Sidekick solution – a personal communication coach to help you excel as a communicator in our new world of work.
Special Post on the Hopin Blog!
Hopin is a leading video conferencing platform with a mission to make the world feel closer. At Virtual Sapiens, we are working hard to help professionals feel comfortable, confident and connected on video so that they can drive the impact they want to see in the world. We have a firm belief that the effective use of video can help people connect, communicate and share. We are looking forward to amplifying the work of companies like Hopin in their pursuit of a closer world and are excited to see our early products make a difference in the future of work. Check out our article focusing on Body Language on video on the Hopin Blog!
Your Home Office Set Up Hacks
Many (read: most) of us didn’t sign up to have think about lighting, framing and background in some pretty high level professional settings. And yet, as we have all learned, nonverbal communication does not stop just because you are no longer in the same physical space as someone. The fact of the matter is, the cues we are sending over video send a strong impression, both from the moment you join a call, and all throughout your connection time. Luckily, setting up a decent system that allows you to connect with clients and stay physically present, is made accessible through a few minor, but powerful hacks. Here are our Virtual Sapiens recommendations. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuZXNfrTgos Hack N.1 – Getting your camera to eye-level What this hack improves: Posture, ease of eye contact, framing Why these things matter: One of the biggest mistakes we see during video calls is poor lens alignment. You want to think about your lens are your audience. If your lens is too high, you are looking up at your audience which gives you a child-like relationship to your audience – this diminishes your authority immediately. If you are looking down on your lens, you send an impression of ill-adjusted dominance. Having your camera directly at eye level also helps you maintain an open and upright posture. If you are stooping towards your screen or lens, you immediately look more tired, low energy and in some cases, smaller in stature. How to enact this hack: This Boyata laptop stand is my absolute favorite. It is adjustable to help bring your laptop and camera to an appropriate height. If you prefer not to spend the $30, you can easily play around with books, boxes and other household options, but this can often get a bit tricky with key board placement. Read on for our thoughts on how to ease the zombie arms! Hack N.2 – No Zombie Arms Allowed What this hack improves: Posture, Carpel Tunnel, Reducing unnecessary movement during a video call Why these things matter: Proper placement with your keyboard allows for an engaged and open posture, it also helps reduce tension in the wrists which can lead to very annoying carpel tunnel syndrome. (Who said office work wasn’t physical!?) How to enact this hack: This Logitech Wireless Keyboard and Mouse allow you maximal flexibility in adjusting your lens and camera to the right height while also ensuring you still have the right set up with for typing. During video calls, you can easily take notes, use keyboard shortcuts without leaning in toward the screen. This helps your overall composure and keeps any distracting movements to a minimum. Hack N.3 – Presenting from standing What this hack improves: Energy while presenting, avoiding sitting down all day Why these things matter: Standing while presenting has long been known to bring a special energy to your presentations. I love giving virtual talks standing up. You have more room to move, feel more human and can usually connect better with your audience. Sitting is also hard on your body if you are seated all day. Alternating between being seated vs. standing can drastically alter the outlook of your day. How to enact this hack: There are two main set ups you can try. You can go this route with an electric powered desk that adjusts to your height. This product allows you to preset up to four different heights between 28 to 46 inches. You can also get an adjustable platform that sits on top of your pre-existing desk or table. This works in the same way as the standing desk except you manually slide the platform up or down whether you are standing or sitting. Whichever way you go, the height of your laptop matters greatly when you are spending so much time oriented around this device. This goes for whether you are working remotely, or in the office. Hack N.4 – Lighting What this hack improves: Overall confidence on screen, focus on you as a presenter, sending a strong first impression Why these things matter: How often have you signed onto a video call to a dark, looming shadow? Or a bright, halo/orb that obscures your fellow participant’s face? One of the biggest issues we tackle first at Virtual Sapiens is helping people with their lighting. Our tool looks for overall brightness, brightness on your image and evenness of lighting. When you have good lighting, your audience sees you, your expression and intention very clearly. You are able to more authentically connect with your audience as a result. How to enact this hack: Apartment lighting might not be ideal for a video call set up, however, you can solve most lighting issues with a Lume Cube or a Neweer Ring Light. Make sure you place your light source behind your lens – so you are not backlit. Hack N.5 – Noise Quality What this hack improves: Noise Quality Why these things matter: It goes without saying, one of the main problems with video conferencing is audio. There is a serious rabbit-hole to go down when it comes to upgrading your audio. Oftentimes, poor video quality will be excused so long as you have clear and quality audio. Captivating your audience and having your messages land with impact requires good audio. How to enact this hack: From the simplest perspective, using headphones can be hugely helpful. This helps the microphone pick up on your voice more clearly. Air pods are best and allow you to be wireless. The most recommended external microphone is this Blue Yeti USB Mic. This mic is easy to set up, filters out noise and you have the ability to control which part of the microphone is turned out. Your voice will ring clear when using this microphone. Just do everyone a favor and don’t have the mic in the screen – no need to have that take up your much needed space! Recap In the end, any one of these upgrades will significantly up
The Very Real Benefits of Powerful Virtual Presence
We at Virtual Sapiens, are in the firm camp of highlighting the many benefits of developing powerful virtual presence and communication skills across an organization. As the world opens up and we start to plan for hybrid work realities, keeping in mind the new skills which need to be developed, and the new benefits in need of being realized, will be a core strategy for companies who want to lead us into the future. Outlined below are some of our favorite benefits that can be unlocked by a team of skilled, virtual presence ninjas. SAVE TIME AND MONEY The narrative of saving time on both ends of our typical commute is significant with remote work. In a recent poll on Twitter, 100% of the respondents enjoyed the added flexibility that comes with remote work. From a business travel perspective, video conferencing reduces the need to travel to every client meeting in person. While the time savings for employees and serious financial savings for employers may be obvious, when you factor in the weighted stress of air travel and delays, we open up a higher quality of life for traditionally on-the-road professionals. We know in-person client meetings will resume to an extent. We also now know that high level video calls are much more personal than phone calls and emails. With increased video communication skills and aptitudes, we can use video to effectively connect with both colleagues and clients to GREAT effect. EXTEND YOUR REACH AND INFLUENCE In line with the opportunity of saving time due to the reduction in travel, you increase your chances of finding a convenient time to connect with that important client or colleague oversees. Consider the client who lives across the country or perhaps the globe. Because you no longer have to deal with the opportunity cost of traveling internationally to meet a new client, you can leverage video meetings and refined video skills to create impact much more effectively. Fun fact, Eric Juan, founder of Zoom, never travels for business meetings – and that was pre-pandemic! GROW RAPPORT THROUGH VIRTUAL PRESENCE While many associate the nature of video conferencing as an impersonal experience, this is mostly caused by the users’ lack of experience and skill when it comes to creating a powerful and personal virtual connection. In video settings, more so than in person, we can control what our audience sees. We have a distinct frame of reference – the lens – to which we can orient our gestures, our posture and our background. In those cases where you are video conferencing in to someone’s home, what cues are you able to pick up on that might help you build an even deeper rapport than if you had met in a stale office or at a coffee shop? There is real potential waiting for those who invest in real video conferencing know-how. Virtual Sapiens is being built as an empire to empower a hybrid workforce. Reach out with questions or to get an early quote for your team!
Staying Present and Grounded on Video
No matter what your remote from work set up is, chances are your body is spending a good deal of its time in the same posture. If you are like most other screen-facing professionals out there, chances are you get immersed in your 2D reality and leave your body behind. Whether you are tuned in to your discomfort or not, being connected to our bodies is a core way to stay present, connected and energized. And when we are present, connected and energized, we are better able to fulfill our goals in harmony with our audience. Since we are HUGE fans of keeping the body engaged and an active part of any conversation, here are a few things to keep in mind as you make your way through your day. WHAT CAN YOU DO? The simple answer is to stretch out regularly. The body is a constantly moving ecosystem. Our bodies are most happy when our blood can flow freely from one end to the other. When our bodies are in a stagnant or locked position (which happens just as much when you are standing and hunching, locking back into your knees, as it does sitting slouched over your laptop), our body’s inner circulatory system becomes compromised. The quickest solution is to arm yourself with a series of simple stretches to perform once every 45 minutes. We will soon have a tool to help keep you grounded and feeling good through our Virtual Sapiens platform. THE BEST WAY TO STRETCH IT OUT At the beginnings of any workshop I lead, I take my clients through a series of stretches all designed to alleviate tension, increase blood flow and overall body awareness. These stretches are all subtle – meaning you can do them while standing, or seated in your office or home, you can even do many of them on the go. When it comes down to it, your body craves movement. These movements don’t have to be anything fancy. Even just a few shoulder and head rolls can do the trick. When your body feels free and smooth, as opposed to clunky and stuck, you free up your full focus; ideas and energy are yours for the taking. It can even be as simple as getting up and going for a walk, taking a look outside the closest window and changing up your visual perspective. Research demonstrates that if you introduce breaks like this into your day, you will actually be more productive, not less in aggregate. SETTING REMINDERS TO HELP YOURSELF For those who don’t have a Virtual Sapiens account where you can access our Virtual Sapiens Academy of videos and exercises, here are some pro-tips to help keep you on track: – Set a timer to buzz every 45 minutes. Every time it goes off, do one or two stretches to get your body back into the picture. – Pay attention to how much time you are spending in prolonged periods of the same posture. If you can, move from seated to standing at least once every hour. Start with these two simple things and I promise you, your body and your brain will thank you for this relatively small effort, that will reap massive rewards.