The online signals that shape trust: my digital body language

Many of us work in flexible, hybrid environments. This is just a quick sense check of your personal digital body language. The goal of this blog? For us to intentionally reflect on what might be autopilot.

“What is implicit in body language now has to be explicit in our digital body language.”

(Erica Dhawan, Digital Body Language p.10)

Let's use Erica Dhawan's 4 Laws for great Digital Body Language to check our own trust-building signals.

1. Value Visibly: Show your attentiveness, respect and recognition for others

2. Communicate Carefully: Choose your words, tone and communication channels thoughtfully

3. Collaborate Confidently: Intentional, clear communications

4. Trust Totally: Build trust through transparency and consistency

Do I value visibily?

When you do this you're showing others you care about and value their time, energy, inputs and schedules. People like this and, in turn, will like you more. All good shiz.

Do I:

• respond to and acknowledge contributions in the chat?

• react/respond to people's messages?

• credit ideas clearly?

• use people's names?

• send out agendas before a meeting so people can prepare in their best way?

Do I communicate carefully?

This one is hard. It's a continuous effort to be as clear as people need. People are bombarded right now. Making an effort to be clear and remove uncertainty helps the other person. And that puts them at ease.

Do I:

• include a date/deadline/priority on every request?

• chunk information and use headings to help my readers?

• respond to all parts of an email or just the first question?

• proofread my emails so it's clear what I want/need/am telling the other person?

Do I confidently collaborate?

This becomes especially important in hybrid environments. We need to actively make the implicit (or what was once seen/overheard) explicit.

Do I:

• intentionally communication with the people who need to be involved?

• provide agendas beforehand with what's expected of people?

• proactively share progress with people?

• give people a variety of ways to share and communicate.

Do I trust totally?

Trust is earned, not given. Equally, we need to give trust to get it. When people are WFH, we can't see them, so what do we need to put in place to trust, yet verify?

And how trustworthy are we?

Do I:

• proactively let people know what I'm up to (as agreed in our ways of working discussions?)

• let people approach work differently to how I would?

• give people my full attention and presence in meetings?

• share the chair and the air?

TAKEAWAY:

If we're working online, we should put as much or more focus on our digital body language, as we do our physical body language in person. It can be easy to slip into bad habits in all areas of our lives.

What are two tangible things you can do to increase your digital presence at work?