Why It Matters: Communicating Through Technology

Why learn to participate in meetings using phone and video conferencing tools?

Both personal and professional communications are becoming increasingly dependent on technology. Everything from ordering dinner from your favorite Thai place to showing samples to far-away colleagues to running a credit card transaction depends on internet and phone communication.

As with in-person communication, there are rules of etiquette for voice, video, and screen-sharing interactions. Some are specific to the technology you are using, but for the most part, there’s a simple set of guidelines that should see you through any interaction involving technology.

Technology can also generate strong emotion in people: fear, frustration, fascination. In this module, you will learn how to calm the emotion and refocus people on the work at hand.

There are, of course, also considerations about the technology itself: Which platform or application do you choose? How do you use it? How do you make sure the conversation goes smoothly and productively for all involved?

Throughout this module, we will assume that you are the host or originator of the communication, though we will talk about how to be an effective participant when someone else is hosting.