“Faceless communication”. A term I use to describe any efforts to communicate with internal teams, clients, or any other stakeholders important to my business in the midst of a pandemic. Let’s be honest. Working from home, and being able to operate effectively via virtual platforms, has opened the world for most businesses, especially Small and Medium Enterprises (SMES). Still, remote work has added a layer of complexity to even the simplest interactions with our stakeholders.
Virtual meetings often consist of faceless participants, unstable internet connections and the dreaded “my-face-froze-in-the-most-awkward-pose” visuals. Where we have normally relied on non-verbal cues, such as body language and facial expressions, we must now make do with interpreting tone of voice, chat boxes, and virtual electronic icons of raised hands.
The faceless pitch
A few weeks ago, our relatively young and small business had to pitch to a potential client at their offices. Due to exposure to another client who had tested positive for COVID-19, the pitch turned virtual. Although we were well versed in online pitches at that point, this pitch was particularly harrowing. With a potential contract on the line and us wanting to create an exceptional first impression, the pressure was on.
Pitch day came along – and it was a disaster. (For ease of reference, we will call the client Ben). Difficulties to join the Zoom meeting led to a second meeting invitation. The second meeting invitation on a different platform blocked our ability to screen share. The video was glitchy. The connection timed out. By the time we sent out a third meeting invitation the screen sharing worked, but Ben’s visual (or video) was not visible to us. But enough time wasted, we pitched.
After 20 minutes, the pitch was over. Ben sounded happy, but I was horrified. The worst part of pitching to Ben was not being able to read his body language and facial expressions. Not knowing if he showed concern or confidence in our abilities left us feeling unsure.
Communication and the personal touch
By itself, face-to-face communication has its own barriers with various types of noises that could influence normal communication flow. For example, when we communicate with each other, we are constantly trying to make sense of what is being said, whilst battling background noises such as office chatter, and airplanes passing. During the pandemic, these noises are joined by dogs barking, children crying, or the challenge of unstable internet connections. Furthermore, our emotional well-being (especially high levels of anxiety), personal circumstances, unique pronunciation, and headaches all affect interpersonal communication - not to mention each party’s body language, tone of voice, and choice of words.
Although these circumstances are tough for all, it is even more difficult for SMEs. SMEs have smaller workforces with smaller budgets, but they offer fit-for-purpose, strategic solutions. To deliver on these promises, SMEs rely on the personal touch aspects of their business. Personal touch is crucial when it comes to ensuring your teammates, consultants and service providers are happy and confident in their ability to meet deliverables. SME clients rely on, and value the personalized strategic solutions that SMEs have on offer.
12 top tips
So how do we turn the risks of “faceless communication” into opportunities? Here are 12 top tips to turn “faceless communication” into crystal clear outcomes.
Always remain calm. The more you stress the less you can rely on any of your other senses as everything becomes a blur.
Remember that most of the time the audience on the other side of your call is also frustrated with the tech. Introduce yourself and ask participants how they are. Breaking the ice and normalizing the conversation helps everyone to take a deep breath before getting down to business.
Acknowledge the issue (for example a difficult connection or video problem) and ask if your audience would like to reschedule or proceed with the meeting.
Ensure that your presentation (if you have one) is visible to your audience so that they can at least follow along. When you can’t see your participants, you need to make the most of the visual aids that you do have.
Don’t speed through your pitch or meeting. Remain calm and collected and speak clearly so that your audience is still able to hear you.
Occasionally ask if the audience has any questions or points that they would like to raise. Doing so continuously draws your audience back into the conversation and encourages active participation. (The key here is occasionally; you don’t want to inundate your audience with questions and start to annoy them).
Try to monitor which participants have come off mute as this might indicate if someone has a question or would like to raise a point for discussion.
When your audience replies, listen to their tone of voice. Although some people can hide their true feelings, you should, in most cases, be able to detect whether they are concerned or excited about what is being discussed.
Engage your audience in the chat feature. Some clients might be shy and prefer the anonymity of the chat, so this will help you to interact with all your audience members.
At the end of your meeting or presentation, thank your audience for their time. Follow-up individually with an email or a phone call and try to arrange a more casual meeting, in person if possible. At the end of the day, we still need the physical interaction.
Don’t underestimate the power of active listening, whether someone is asking a question, giving feedback, complaining, or even typing comments in the chat box. Listening to what the target audience is saying can still provide you with some perspective when you feel out of touch.
Most of these tips require some multi-tasking. If you have a team with you online, try and delegate some of the tasks. By asking team members to assist in monitoring the chat, etc., you ensure that the team also stays engaged throughout your faceless interaction.
Team interactions, client pitches and consultant meetings all directly impact the success of a business. A few weeks after what felt like a disastrous pitch to Ben, he phoned with some good news. We got the contract. Don’t get caught in the downfalls of “faceless communication”. Act now and turn those difficult interactions into opportunities.
About the author
Elrida Oberholzer is a Strategic Communication Specialist and founder of Stretto Strategies, a company that specializes in assisting private and listed companies in telling their value creation stories through various service offerings. She is passionate about the role communication plays in bringing different teams of experts together to create sustainable value for companies. Elrida holds a Masters in Strategic Communication from the University of Johannesburg.
