How your organization can make the most of Internet-Based Communication

In this article, I want to share some ideas that will encourage you to embrace Internet-Based Communication (IBC) for your organization. We all learned our ABCs, now let’s embrace our IBCs. I will share some communication insights and my experiences as I make the transition from a traditional trainer (ABC) to IBC training. Ultimately, I want to help your organization make the inevitable transition to IBC.

To introduce the topic, allow me to acknowledge that I am an “old school” trainer. I learned effective communication skills as a soft skills trainer with IBM Canada. As such, I am well-grounded in face-to-face communication, reading body language, tone, etc. For several years, I have cursed IBC as being one of the worst things to have happened to society as a whole. The younger generation, however, has embraced the technology and created an entirely new way to communicate via texting, social media, etc. If your organization wants to engage this tech-savvy generation, you will have to embrace their ways of communication to some degree.

It is time to “stop communicating with yourself and start communicating with others.”

I have recently begun to embrace remote communication thanks to a new technology which allows me to enjoy the best of both worlds. It is a game changer for me, and I am beyond excited. I will have more to share on that later in this blog.

For now, let me set the stage for my transition. Perhaps doing so will help ease your transition into the world of IBC. As part of my journey as a trainer, I have discovered some insights about people that I would like to share with you.

Internet-Based Communication Engagement and Commitment

There are three levels of engagement in people which must be kept in mind:

1. Engaged: These people genuinely believe in what is happening, tend to put a lot of effort into it, and tend to focus on the good things about a project/workplace.
2. Disengaged: They do what is required, but their heart may not be in it. They are sometimes referred to as the “silent killer,” as their lack of genuine effort affects productivity in any organization. The good news is that they can be converted. Studies indicate that this group can represent up to 50% of most work forces in North America.
3. Actively Disengaged: They do not believe in the idea at all. They tend to focus on the bad things about a project/workplace. More importantly, they try to actively recruit others, so they will also see things in this negative light. All of us have moments when we are in negative mood, and it will likely come across to others as though we are actively disengaged. If possible, I try to avoid emails and phones when I am in one of those moods.

It is worth noting that I recently I made a decision to embrace Social Media in my business and I am excited by the prospect. I have met with a Social Media consultant who is outlining a strategy for my business – I am now engaged and I love it!

Emotional Mirroring

Research seems to indicate that our emotions are transferred to others via a subconscious connection – when we are face-to-face. We can feel both positive and negative “vibes” from each other. I am sure you have examples of meeting people who either lift your spirits or bring you down by just being in the same room. If we are not careful, IBC communication can be affected negatively by this in that we might miss important emotional cues.

Any communication has to take this intuitive understanding into consideration. When people text to us, we might have an emotional reaction that is based on our misinterpretation of the content. Of course, some emoji’s can help with this. I will have more to say on this later. For now, here is an interesting reference about texting. https://jonathanlace.wordpress.com/2014/06/01/the-hermeneutics-of-texting/

Behavioural Style Differences

I have invested many years in understanding differences in people, and I use the DISC behavioural model. If you are not familiar with this model, here is a brief overview:

• D stands for Dominance. These people are extroverted and task or thinking oriented. They love new things but resist it when change is imposed on them.
• I stands for Influence. These people are extroverted, and people- or feelings-oriented. They love to talk and interact with others. They love exciting ideas but might buy in without completely understanding how it all works.
• S stands for Stability. These people are introverted, and people- or feelings-oriented. They prefer the status quo and minimal change. They want to trust, but it will take time to develop it. They keep their emotions inside, so you likely won’t know if they are disengaged. They are often the largest group, particularly in a service oriented organization.
• C stands for Compliance. They are introverted and task/thinking oriented. They prefer proven ideas, so they will not be very willing to try untested ideas. They will, however, be the best problem solvers when the ideas are being developed.

Stay tuned for future articles where we will cover resistance to change and the tactics to overcome objections.