Communication Archives - MSB Executive

Why not set a communication resolution this year?

By MSB| 2021-01-27T10:53:49+00:00 January 27th, 2021|Communication, Online meetings, Presentation skills, Public speaking, Video|

Feeling disheartened already setting new year’s resolutions? We understand. 2020 was an unbelievably challenging year. There is still so much uncertainty around what options will be available to us in 2021 which can make setting resolutions tricky. We can’t necessarily join that choir or take that trip we wanted to.

At MSB Executive we’ve been thinking about is how we can scale down resolutions to make them more manageable and meaningful. Our team has therefore decided to focus on our communication skills and what are the small things each of us could commit to improving? Having a bit of focus gives purpose and a feeling of achievement.

Here are some of the team’s individual communication resolutions to inspire you to think of your own:

Embracing the pause

Too often we can rush in to talk and fill a silence. It can lead to ‘filler’ sounds such as ‘umms and ahhs’. Practicing pauses and getting comfortable with silence is a great habit to develop.

Prioritising listening over talking

Regularly choosing to pay complete attention to someone without the intention of speaking at all until asked. Our team member has put a post-it note on their screen which says ‘shhhhhh and listen’ to remind themselves.

Remembering to SMILE at the start of calls/presentations

It’s too easy to get into our heads about the content of our presentation rather than remembering that when we smile – not only do we relax but we visually demonstrate to the audience that we are relaxed and happy to be there…so they can relax to.

Speaking directly

Omitting the ‘just’ out of communications e.g. ‘I was just wondering if…’ ‘I’m just getting in touch to see…’. It’s an easy habit to get into but it subtly diminishes your own importance. It’s ok to ‘wonder’ or ‘get in touch’ without tip-toeing.

We hope this inspires you to think about your own communication habits and pick something of your own to work on. Let us know what you might work on and we’d love to give you more tips!

5 ways 2020 has changed how we communicate

By MSB| 2021-01-05T13:52:22+00:00 January 5th, 2021|Blog, Body Language, Communication, Online meetings, Online video|

The impact of Covid 19 transformed the world as we knew it last year. We have been reflecting on what this has meant for the way we communicate as humans. It feels that we have adapted from age-old, ingrained, means of communication to entirely different norms in a rapid period.

Here are 5 ways 2020 changed how we communicate:

1. A window into your home

‘Dress to impress’ was the adage pre-2020 to remind us that people judge the visual as much as our content in communicating. Now we must think one step further thanks to the rise in video calls. We need to ‘window dress’ our backgrounds as every video call allows a little window into our homes. This is all the more obvious when we see reporters, journalists and interviewees in their homes on TV news – sometimes it’s hard to believe that they haven’t thought more about their backgrounds because whether we like it or not, this gets judged as much as we ourselves do.

2. Interpreting communications through a mask

So much of how we communicate is nuanced in micro facial expressions but for much of this year we’ve been communicating with each other through a mask. It means that we need to work harder with both our words and our tone of voice to convey more explicitly the sentiment of what we’re saying.

3. New language adopted instantaneously

New terminology has emerged constantly that is suddenly the jargon on everybody’s lips. Furlough, pandemic, Covid, PPE and of course, festive bubbles – which until this year meant something entirely different in previous years!

4. Greetings with elbow bumps

Physical contact is a primal need. Will we return to shaking hands when the world returns to normal? People may take different approaches. Expect some awkward moments when we do go back to some face-to face meetings.

5. Gathering as groups online

Last but not least is of course, the omnipresence of video calls and meetings as working from home became the standard practice. Again, we’ve lost a lot the subtlety that body language brings into communicating. This has led to some bumpy moments on Zoom calls such as speaking over one another or where everyone has their camera turned off and you feel you are speaking into a void!

In summary

We think these changes demonstrate the incredible ability humans have in adapting to their circumstances. It will be interesting to observe in 2021 which of these new habits in communicating we keep or if we’ll revert back to old ways. Or perhaps more likely there will be a combination… transparent face masks anyone?