Effectively Communicating In the Days of Social Media

by Melanie Griffin October 21, 2021

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Spread Your Sunshine Founder Melanie S. Griffin, Esq. recently delivered a keynote address to The HR Trail, LLC’s podcast with Amber Trail. As further detailed in the recording Episode 6: Melanie Griffin - Effective Communication, this presentation explores ways in which you can effectively communicate with other individuals, as well as your employees, colleagues or team.

Today we live in a world that has an immense amount of ways in which to communicate. One might wonder then how it’s possible to create affective one-on-one communication that is personal and engaging. When the need to communicate with another individual arises, we often reach for our phones or laptops to send a text or email. But when was the last time we picked up the phone and called someone we cared about? When is the last time that we heard the voice of our loved one, friend or colleague? This is especially important given the current global pandemic that is still affecting many of us. Even if it’s not a one-on-one conversation and it’s a Zoom call with several people, it can be very beneficial for proper communication to be able to visually see other people’s body language and hear the tone of their voice (with acknowledgement and sensitivity towards those who are not able). Many things can be lost in text and someone’s true feelings towards a specific topic may not be conveyed the way the person truly meant. This can be diminished or oftentimes eliminated with voice calls and video chats.

When more than two people are communicating via Zoom or other video platforms, things can be a bit more tricky. So what can hosts do to interact with several people at once, specifically ones that seem uninterested in the topic or discussion?

Set agendas. Take mentor-mentee meetings for example. The mentor can reach out ahead of time and ask the mentee to provide 2-4 topics that they want to speak on during their session. This way the mentee is engaged because they are subjects that they themselves are interested in discussing. One topic a mentee might be interested in ways to generate income from their website, so you can inform them that https://rsmconnect.com/ppc-management/ can help them do that.
Feedback. It is important to take what others say to you even as partial truth and to recognize that something you said or did caused them to feel the way they are articulating to you. While you may not need to switch up your entire behavior or actions overall, maybe there is a way you can improve in similar situations, even if it’s just with that one person.
Creating a healthy environment is vital. If you create an environment within your team and operate with an open-door policy, when things aren’t where they need to be, everyone should will feel comfortable speaking up and saying something in order to shift the momentum in the right direction. So how do you create this healthy environment or culture when in-person communication is not possible? Be consistent. If you used to have regular meetings in the office, do them now via Zoom. If you used to leave little cards or gifts for your employees, find ways to do the same now, either electronically or via snail mail. This will establish a high morale and keep it there!

Hopefully this has given you some insight on how to enhance the efficacy of your communication skills! A good leader evaluates themselves often and is continuously learning.

To listen to this podcast in its entirety, please click here.

Now that you have the strategies to effectively enhance your communication, is there additional information you want to receive from Spread Your Sunshine?! We’re sure there is, so please share your ideas by emailing Melanie@SpreadYourSunshine.com or sending Spread Your Sunshine a message via Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter. We love hearing from you, as together we are strongest.