With more and more people working remotely, the importance of video conferencing has grown. Being on a video conferencing call requires more attention than the usual face-to-face interactions. You also spend more energy to process the non-verbal part – facial expressions, tone of the speaker, etc.
Communication Gap
Body language, the most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t said. At office, when we interact with our colleagues, our communication is 20% verbal and the remaining 80% is non-verbal. Gestures, facial expressions, eye contact, and so on form part of non-verbal communication. When we are on video conferencing apps, we already miss many of the non-verbal parts of communication.
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In addition, most of us tend to switch off the videos making the non-verbal part to hit a zero. This means, we may be missing the 80% of the communication and it may induce stress on us and others in understanding our thoughts, feelings and emotions about a given subject being discussed.
Technical Troubles
Technical problems like when someone starts speaking with his mic muted, happens all the time! Then you notify them that the mic is muted. And for some people, when they speak, the audio is not clear. Again, you notify that you are not able to hear them and they adjust the mic or bring it closer for better audio.
Silence is easy to understand when you are in a face-to-face communication. In fact, silence and facial expressions communicate more than what we speak. Being silent in a normal conversation creates a natural rhythm that adds to effectiveness of communication.
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However, when someone is silent during a video conferencing, you are not sure if he or she is intentionally silent or if there is a problem with technology. There could be frozen screen and drop of audio due to poor internet connections. Studies show that if you are going to be silent in video conferencing, the speaker will perceive you negatively and will think that you are less friendly, less focused or not interested in the subject being discussed.
Environmental Distractions
During a video call, which now is happening from our homes, makes way too many environmental distractions. From barking pets to playing child in the background, we have to manage them all. A separate space for attending video conferencing might be useful with locked doors to reduce some stress.
When we are in a video conferencing, we know that everyone is watching us. It is like being on a stage and giving a talk. Many of us feel a bit uncomfortable and switch off the video part and keep the mic on mute. Then it becomes more like listening to a Radio program!
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Video call can be distracting at time. Someone might walk out any time and comeback. Also the added stress of you need to pay attention to all others on the screen and all the others are watching you distracts you from the objective of the meeting. Also, some of us are conscious of how we look, what clothes we are wearing and what is in the background. We are also conscious of people online as well as people at home – making the communication complex and stressful.
Finally!
Now that you have learnt the differences between video conferencing and face-to-face communication, now go ahead and make use of this understanding to your advantage in communicating your message across to everyone.
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