Ping: The Secrets of Successful Virtual Communication by Andrew Brodsky

Lasting relationships require physical proximity, but virtual communications still have their place with some initiative and planning. One of the most useful conversation strategies you can engage in is asking for the other person’s advice. People generally like the idea of being helpful, but requests should be personal, not sent to a list of people. Craft your message so the person knows how the right answer will help you personally. Be prepared to implement the advice you get if you can.
Thanks to COVID, remote video meetings increased in frequency and spontaneity. This has improved relationships. The visual aspect of video meeting is useful for feeling like we “know” the other person. Virtual communication provides us with the necessary tools to forge connections with people whose paths we might never have crossed.

Always remember that video calls can be recorded and easily shared. Some acting is fine to portray emotions, just know that you are doing it. You want the emotions that you are attempting to convey to be the ones that are coming through. There are lots of stories about people being laid off on video calls and via emails. In-person conversations are the most authentic and emails are the least. Emails are also good for hiding emotions.
Mistakes can make you seem more likable as long as they don’t show a lack of competence regarding an important subject. Mistakes unrelated to your work can make you seem more human and approachable. Audio and video can present emotions while email can’t.

Trust is essential in relationships and successful careers. Trust is harder to build using virtual communications as they lack casual “water cooler” conversations. Just as you have off topic conversations face-to-face, you should also do some schmoozing virtually. People like to talk about themselves. Ask questions about things like families. Try to mimic the tone and style of the people you communicate with. Embrace interruptions by things like kids and pets that can serve to break the ice.
Give some thought to what other people will see in your background during video calls. Books are fine, clutter and bad lighting are not. Err on the side of communicating too much rather than not enough. Give thought to the impact of CCs. They can cause you to lose trust, especially if you keep cc’ing your boss. Sending emails to big lists can cause a storm of reply alls that no one likes. Show people that you trust them in your messages.