Communicating successfully in today’s global organizations depends on making sure that messages are understood accurately and intended outcomes are achieved. With the loss of non-verbal cues and the likelihood of different cultures, it is essential to choose appropriate technologies and behaviours for successful virtual communication. This presentation gives useful and easy to apply tips and advice, which will ensure that you and your team communicate effectively as possible. For more advice on how to thrive in the borderless workplace, contact us today: enquiries@tmaworld.com

1. A Guide to Virtual Communication
Creating shared understanding across boundaries

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Workers in today’s global
organizations face greater
communication challenges than
ever before.
Virtual
Communications

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Communicating via technology is inherently
more challenging in itself, with face-to-face
mechanisms lost or distorted and vocal and
nonverbal communication cues mostly
absent.
Virtual
Communications

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The added likelihood of communicating
with colleagues in different time zones and
cultures, which can also often distort
communication, means it is essential to
choose appropriate technologies and
behaviours for successful virtual
interactions.
Virtual
Communications

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With so much done via
technology and
without ever seeing
many colleagues I
find I miss that ‘human’
touch…
To make
your virtual
communications
work both for you
and others adopt
the following tips
“
”

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How can you relate more through
technology?
Communicating via technology creates
emotional distance.
Virtual communications can appear
impersonal, co-located colleagues tend to
side more with each other and false
assumptions and attributes become
attached to those on the other end of
technology, leading to greater
communication challenges.
Building rapport goes a long way in
eliminating these problems.
To make
your virtual
communications
work both for you
and others adopt
the following tips

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In the early days
 Choose technology that meets the needs
of the task and that will connect you
socially
 Be proactive and connect simply to say
hello – it reminds others you’re ‘human’
 Show enthusiasm in your
communications
To make
your virtual
communications
work both for you
and others adopt
the following tips

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Longer Term
My team mate never
appears to understand what I
say.
I speak to him on Skype and he
says all is OK, but when I email
him he never responds!
 Create a rhythm to your communications, get into the habit of being in
touch
 Respond to others clearly and precisely and do so promptly
“
”

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What impact does culture have?
Virtual communication can be difficult when different cultures interact.
Cultural difference, from local to national, or organizational to business
unit, can vary significantly and in the virtual world of today
communication only magnifies its impact.
For example, implicit (low context) cultures rely on the meaning of
words when they communicate, explicit (high context) cultures rely
heavily on deeper understanding, ambiguity, silence and non-verbal
gestures.
This opposing way of communicating presents many challenges to
overcome.

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Follow these top tips to make your cross-cultural virtual
communications clearer:
 Be alert - in the virtual world culture is out of sight. Ensure you keep
cultural considerations in mind at all times:
 Implicit cultures use soft communication: polite and indirect,
visual and aesthetic
 Explicit cultures use hard communication: direct and to the
point, information rich
 Select the richest medium possible, choosing spoken communications
wherever possible
 Use colour with due thought in your visual communications - colour
has cultural meaning, which affects interpretation

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I have a 3 hour ‘sweet spot’
where my manager’s working
hours and mine both match.
He insists during that time we
communicate by phone,
but I don’t think it’s always
necessary.
How can you make time difference work?
Spanning time zones can present
advantage as well as disadvantages.
Here are some helpful tips when you
should look to use real time
(synchronous) communications and
when it’s OK or even advantageous to
use delayed time (asynchronous)
communications.
“
”

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How can you make time difference work?
Synchronous
 Issues cannot be easily predicted in advance
 When quick and confirmed shared understanding is required
 When real-time interaction/sharing is critical
 When the presence of a decision maker is needed

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How can you make time difference work?
Asynchronous
 Communications are non-urgent
 So individuals can engage in communications at a time that suits
 To meet specific needs, priorities or preferences of individual
 When participants need to research or reflect before making
contributions
 When the message needs to be perpetual information
 When time zones make synchronous difficult

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In virtual team meetings the
others speak so quickly and
interrupt one another so much
that I am unsure what they are
talking about much of the time.
What adaptations are needed for different languages?
Virtual communication can also be
difficult when it involves people who
are communicating in a non-native or
secondary language.
“
”

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Follow these tips to overcome secondary language barriers:
 Address difference in common language by using a leaner media
(text and image based).
 Be precise with your words and especially avoid unclear analogies
and metaphors
 Make complex information visual and make visuals clearer by adding
words
 When speaking be aware of how you say things: keep it simple,
keep it slow, ask straightforward questions
 When listening be attentive to what is and what is not said and give
the other person time to think by not interrupting
 Check for shared understanding at the end of your communications

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and articles
Publications Written by Terence Brake, Director of Learning &
Innovation at TMA World.
Our new Borderless Working e-book series
About Us
Visit
www.tmaworld.com/insights
to discover the latest
thinking from our experts on
global, collaborative, cross-
cultural and virtual working.
There you’ll find links to our:

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hesitate to send any comments,
questions or feedback to us at:
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Or visit our website:
www.tmaworld.com
Visit
www.tmaworld.com/insights
to discover the latest
thinking from our experts on
global, collaborative, cross-
cultural and virtual working.