At Virtual Sapiens, we spend a lot of time demonstrating the value and power in investing in your team’s (and your own) virtual presence awareness and skills.
The Economist recently came out with with an article focused on ‘Virtual/Screen Presence’ as a competitive advantage in the modern workplace.
It is indicative of people starting to understand this critical new competency that there is an article dedicated to it in an outlet like The Economist.
This article has a paywall, but the gist can be summed up in this quote from the article:
“Since video has become more central to work, it pays to be good at it. Being a star in the video age means having the right set-up, speaking well and listening well. Workers can improve under their own steam, but companies can help, too.”
One important point to highlight here, is the emphasis on companies doing their part to invest in supporting their employees in developing a new skill set around communicating effectively on video.
Currently, there are a number of assumptions floating around that really get in the way of powerful remote work practices and expectations. For instance, assuming ‘people are experts on video now’, or ‘everyone is used to and feels comfortable on video now’…
In addition to these assumptions, there is an absence of clear and well thought out policies for how to use video, and when. Not to mention, there is a tendency to view certain coaching in this space as a ‘nice to have’ instead of a ‘need to have’.
In line with all communication and sales training firms that have evolved to meet the challenge of remote work, it is imperative to invest in building skills and awareness around communicating and connecting over video.
We’ve said it before, and I will say it again, the companies and teams who recognize this, and who invest either in person-to-person coaching, or some of the leading AI tools in this space (like yours truly), will find themselves at a significant advantage as masters of the virtual room.
‘Today’ is always a good time to take a look at what’s on offer – we start with a free trial to assess the current skill level, and provide personalized coaching options to get everyone the feedback and reinforcement they need.
Check in with us or try yours for yourself today – don’t wait until you get left behind!