Whether you like it or not, virtual work is here to stay. Maybe you’re fully remote or in the office a few days a week. Perhaps you’re in the office full time but others aren’t. Regardless, you’re likely conducting a lot of virtual meetings. And, as we have all learned, in-person interactions don’t always translate seamlessly to Zoom.

Which is why I reached out to Leigh Thompson, a professor of management and organizations. Thompson’s research focuses on negotiation, creativity, and teamwork—all things that can be difficult to do online. So I asked her a few questions to learn how we can improve our virtual interactions.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Virtual Meetings

Some tasks and activities are really difficult to do virtually; other interactions are pretty easily transferred to Zoom or similar platforms, Thompson explains. The trick, of course, is to know which is which, and how to make those tricky ones easier. Thompson will go into greater detail on how to do all of this during the next The Insightful Leader Live webinar at noon central time on Thursday, Dec 2. Here, she answers a few of my questions:

INSIGHT: What’s one thing that you think almost everyone gets wrong about navigating work relationships virtually?

THOMPSON: They get down to business too fast. They focus on the transaction, and the relationship goes by the wayside. Pleasantries are not a waste of time; they provide social glue that starts to build the trust and cohesion that we need for successful virtual relationships. In my own research, we found that five minutes of nonbusiness-talk prior to a high-stakes negotiation led to a 25 percent increase in dealmaking and the creation of more than $1.5 million in economic outcomes.

INSIGHT: What are some of the most important activities that simply do not translate well from face-to-face to virtual communication without a good deal of effort?

THOMPSON: First, conversational turn-taking: In face-to-face meetings, there is usually a seamless orchestration of turn-taking and turn-giving. The speaker will look away while speaking and then, when ready to relinquish the floor, will look at the person whom they want to speak. The speaker and the next turn-taker will lock eyes for a few microseconds and a seamless transition occurs. On Zoom and other virtual meeting platforms, shared eye contact is impossible. Furthermore, we have no idea who the speaker is looking at on the virtual screen. This plays out in extremely awkward attempts at turn-taking. It is these awkward moments that contribute to Zoom fatigue. All the signals that our brains are getting are not matching with the reality of the situation

Second, unplanned collisions: Collisions are unplanned encounters between people, usually in the same organization, such as by the coffee bar or the mailroom. Two important things happen in collisions: an exchange of pleasantries (“How was the weekend”) and usually an exchange of important information (“Did you hear that they are going to hire a new administrator?”). For most of us, collisions are a good thing, leading to a release of the bonding hormone oxytocin, and to the exchange of information. We don’t get either in virtual meetings. Why? Virtual meetings are by definition, planned encounters. Moreover, most of our virtual meetings involve more than two people and they are formal.

INSIGHT: Is there anything that you think is actually done better on a virtual platform?

THOMPSON: In my article, “Why virtual communication won’t be the death of creativity,” I find that Zoom (and other platforms) provide more fertile ground for creative idea generation than face-to-face meetings. But, there are some critical steps to take when planning your creative Zoom meeting, such as getting out white boards and teaching people how to use them, and putting small groups of people or pairs in their own Zoom rooms for short amounts of time.

Want More from Thompson?

To hear more from Thompson on living your best virtual life, be sure to register for the free Dec. 2 webinar.

Thompson is also doing a series of short videos on LinkedIn that are full of useful tips. Here are the first two:

Should you negotiate your job offer?
Should you make the opening offer in a negotiation?

For even more of Thompson’s negotiating advice, check out her most recent book, Negotiating the Sweet Spot: The Art of Leaving Nothing on the Table.

The Insightful Leader will be taking next week off for Thanksgiving. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday.

—Emily Stone, senior editor
Kellogg Insight