You are part of the next communication revolution! Not only do you email, IM, twitter, and blog with the best of them, but now you have added videoconferencing to your repertoire. After all, video is the next revolution in virtual collaboration for both personal and business communication; or is it? Can you really replace all aspects of face-to-face communication with video technology?
Human visual communication is a wonderfully intricate thing. Eye contact and body gestures reveal a wealth of information not possible otherwise. Studies have shown that eye contact is a critical aspect of establishing trust in personal relationships and modern videoconferencing technology has become very adapt at replicating virtual eye contact (Nguyen & Canny, 2007). It would stand to reason that by using videoconferencing technology for remote communication one would naturally improve social communication and in doing so, improve collaboration. But is it really that simple?
Communication is more than just being able to see the other person. A group of researchers studied how individuals interacted socially during meetings. What they found was that the majority of social interaction happened at the beginning, end, or during meeting breaks (Anderson et al., 2005). But why? The reason has to do with our learned behaviors with regard to formal meetings. Once a meeting starts, we have learned that there are rules to who can speak, who should listen, when you should voice your opinion, and when it is best to keep quiet (Wolfe & Haynes, 2003). These behaviors remain in effect even when the meeting becomes virtual and videoconferencing technology is used.
However, once we head for the coffee pot, all bets are off! Individuals will seek out others with whom they want to share their thoughts and feelings. This is the chance to find out what people really think and it is all disguised behind an innocent cup of coffee. Here, the seeds of trust and social relationships have a chance to flourish without the burden of the formal meeting structure. In my own research, participants revealed their need to have a way of replicating this informal communication if videoconferencing was to become a part of their everyday communication toolbox.
So when you are evaluating that shiny new videoconferencing technology, you may need to look beyond just pixels, camera resolution, and sound emulation. Ask the sales person if it comes with an espresso option or possibly a foamed latte macchiato dispenser. For fostering relationships that will improve both personal and business collaboration, it is still difficult to beat a good cup of coffee.
Sources:
Anderson A., Mullin, J., Mcewan, R., Bal, J., Carletta, J., Grattan, E., & Brundell, P. (2005).
Exploring why virtual teamworking is effective in the lab but more difficult in the workplace. In R. Bromme, F.W. Hesse, & H. Spada, (Eds.), Barriers and biases in computer-mediated knowledge communication – and how they may be overcome (pp. 15-37). Dordrecht, NL: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Nguyen, D., & Canny, J. (2007, April 28May 3). Multiview: Improving trust in group videoconferencing through spatial faithfulness. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on human factors in computing systems (pp. 799-808). New York: ACM.
Wolfe, C. R., & Haynes, C. (2003). Interdisciplinary writing assessment profiles. Issues in Integrative Studies, 21, 126-169.