virtual worlds and communication

var sc_project=3372029; var sc_invisible=1; var sc_partition=37; var sc_security=”918325f4″; Home Books Clients How I work Pricing Research Services Free eBooks Home Articles Courses Nonverbal Products Twitter Case studies Presentations* Info Pack* –> My blog is here About me Search * opens in new browser window Second Life blog (both links open in a new window) –> Current Adelaide time: obj = new Object;obj.clockfile = “5002-blue.swf”;obj.TimeZone = “ACDT”;obj.width = 192;obj.height = 19;obj.Place = “”;obj.DateFormat = “DD-mm”;obj.TimeFormat = “hhmmTT”;obj.wmode = “transparent”;showClock(obj); Contact me: +61 410 642 052 virtual worlds and communication var sc_project=3372029; var sc_invisible=1; var sc_partition=37; var sc_security=”918325f4″; Home Books Clients How I work Pricing Research Services Free eBooks Home Articles Courses Nonverbal Products Twitter Case studies Presentations* Info Pack* –> My blog is here About me Search * opens in new browser window Second Life blog (both links open in a new window) –> Current Adelaide time: obj = new Object;obj.clockfile = “5002-blue.swf”;obj.TimeZone = “ACDT”;obj.width = 192;obj.height = 19;obj.Place = “”;obj.DateFormat = “DD-mm”;obj.TimeFormat = “hhmmTT”;obj.wmode = “transparent”;showClock(obj); Contact me: +61 410 642 052 Fresh News: Virtual worlds and communication: virtual face time by Carol Kinsey Goman, Ph.D. For years, communicators have debated the most effective ways of delivering key messages. Newsletters, videos, personal voice mails, public address systems, even today’s text messaging – all seem to have their proponents. But if a leader is going to talk about new initiatives, major change, strategic opportunities – or if he/she has to deliver bad news – my advice is to do so face to face. Likewise, I’d counsel a team (even one that is geographically dispersed), to begin its collaborative process with an in-person meeting that allows team members get to know one another. This is because in face-to-face meetings, our brains process a continual cascade of nonverbal cues that we use as the basis for building trust and professional intimacy – both of which are critical to high-level collaboration, negotiation, and communication. No such subliminal interpretation takes place with email, over the phone, nor (until just recently) during a videoconference. But now, Cisco Systems is one of several companies working on products that make the virtual experience almost the same as a face-to-face interaction – and I was lucky enough to get a demonstration last month. Cisco’s TelePresence Meeting use a “life-size” high-definition video and directional sound technology that makes voices seem to come from where a user is located at the remote site. It’s absolutely amazing! This new generation of videoconferencing makes participants feel like they are actually sitting in the same room with people who are on the other side of the world (or, in my case, on the other side of the Cisco campus in San Jose, California). Best of all, I could make eye contact with my virtual partners, and we could respond to each other’s facial expressions and body language. Here’s why I find this new technology is so very important . . . When a parent smiles at a newborn baby, the infant will copy the movement. When someone near you yawns, you yawn. When you see another person getting a vaccination, you cringe. The mechanism in the brain that causes these reactions was discovered in Italy, where scientists were studying the brain cells of macaque monkeys. Researchers had confirmed that when a monkey performs a single highly specific hand action, neurons in the motor cortex are very active. For example, every time a monkey reached for a peanut certain cells on either side of its brain “fired,” creating a buzzing sound that was detectable by highly sophisticated monitoring equipment. One day a monkey wired up for such an experiment happened to see a human grab a peanut. Much to the researchers’ surprise, the same neurons fired in the same way. In terms of motor cell activity, the monkey’s brain could not tell the difference between actually doing something and seeing it done. Because the cells reflected the actions that the monkey observed in others, the neuroscientists named them “mirror neurons.” Later experiments confirmed the existence of mirror neurons in humans. But the research revealed another surprise: for human beings, in addition to mirroring actions, the cells reflected sensations and feelings. The term empathy describes the human ability to internalize the emotional state of others by simply observing their body language. The mirror neuron system gives us the ability to create an image of the internal state of another person’s mind. Empathizing with someone, whether in grief or joy, can activate the very same circuits in your own brain as in your companion’s. For example, one study had subjects watch a hand move forward to caress someone else and then saw another hand push it away rudely. The brains of the subjects registered the pain of social rejection as if it was happening to them. Mirror neurons explain how we are hard-wired to connect with others. The moment you see an emotion expressed on someone’s face – or read it in her gestures or posture – you subconsciously place yourself in the other person’s “mental shoes,” and begin to sense that same emotion within yourself. For this reason mirror neurons are sometimes referred to as Dalai Lama neurons, because they provide a biological basis for compassion. In his book, “On Becoming a Person,” psychologist Carl Rogers wrote, “Real communication occurs when we listen with understanding – to see the idea and attitude from the other person’s point of view, to sense how it feels to them, to achieve their frame of reference in regard to the thing they are talking about.” Reaching that goal of understanding, of empathy — this is why nonverbal cues are so crucial to our profession relationships. And why I am so excited about the new technology. In the virtual world, Cisco’s TelePresence Meeting is one giant step forward for real communication! var owHost = ((“https:” == document.location.protocol) ? “https://” : “http://”);document.write(unescape(“%3Cscript src='” + owHost + “onlywire.com/btn/button_3798′ ad=’no’ title=’TITLE’ tags='”business communication” communication nonverbal’ url=’URL’ class=’owbutton’ type=’text/javascript’%3E%3C/script%3E”)); Reports I have written: Measuring the impact and ROI of social media – for Ark Group Making Social Media work for your business – for Ark Group Social Media: The New Business Communication Landscape – for Ark Group How to get started with podcasting in your organisation – for Melcrum Publishing Contributing author to How to use social media to solve critical internal communication issues – for Melcrum Publishing Contributing author to How to use social media to engage employees – for Melcrum Publishing Contributing author to How to communicate with hard-to-reach employees – for Melcrum Publishing Have you subscribed to my weekly newsletter yet? 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Download your free copy now (pdf) Find out more about it (opens new window) Vodburner is my tool of choice for recording skype video calls, either for later podcasting or simply for my own record. Now that video is becoming more and more important, I can’t imagine online life without it.More about Vodburner… What you say about Lee Hopkins: “One of the best days I’ve spent with a man! ” “As a speaker, Lee and his alter ego in the guise of avatar ‘Lee Laperriere’ played a key role in making our virtual event in Second Life a success. Lee was well-researched, engaging and enthusiastic about the possibilities that virtual collaboration brings and his presentation showed that he had really thought about the needs of our audience” “Wow – what a presentation, it went so well, thank you very much! Fantastic job! ” “Lindy and Lee, you were both brilliant and I’m very thankful and pleased for your efforts, it was excellent. Thank you. ” “One of Australia’s leading public relations practitioners in the so-called new media” “While I only had the pleasure of actually meeting Lee face-to-face several months ago, I have been aware of him in conference programs and through feedback from one of my team members for a while. Lee has an amazing and unique skill for managing the new media to support business outcomes” “Oz’s best social network strategist” “As for Local Royalty, you really are a Superstar among the bloggers and blogosphere!” “Lee Hopkins, one of Australia’s most respected social media experts” “Lee was very entertaining and knowledgeable. He demystified social media for me and he made me feel it IS possible.” “His enthusiasm is infectious – exciting stuff!” “Excellent. A really fascinating insight from an engaging speaker.” “A very difficult topic but it was explained in a fantastically simple way.” “The Walkleys relies on the good will of Australia’s talented communicators to make events like these happen and I can’t thank you enough for taking time out from your heavy schedule to make the convention such a memorable event.” “The workshop was very useful in that it enabled us to directly relate what we learnt in the seminar to our business. Lee was very easy to relate to and he presented all the information in a way that was simple to understand.” “Informative and engaging – gave good overview of new on-line technologies and how they can be applied to businesses. Particularly valued the opportunity to have a separate session to look at the specific needs and potential uses for my own business.” “Great to talk to someone who is expert in their field and passionate.” “The ability to interact one on one with Lee, as well as seeing new technologies and how they can be easily implemented into current business processes [was great]” “Great. Lee was very engaging and presented info in easy to understand language and examples. Use of music, video, PowerPoint etc keep contents fun and educational. Great stuff!” “Great! Even I could understand and appreciate the content. Excellent examples, wonderful presentation. I’m going back to share with my team. Thank you. ” “Lee was a great facilitator and his energy and passion for social media was evident.” “Excellent, enthusiastic presenter who is right into what he is talking about. Walking the talk.Just the right amount of info about the different topics. Not too geeky. Strong emphasis on how the tools can assist effective business communication. Relaxed friendly atmosphere. The workshop opened lots of doors, stimulating. I’m strongly encouraged to try things out. Many thanks.” “Lee was great – knowledgeable, enthusiastic, generous in sharing his expertise. I liked the demonstrations.” “Great Workshop… helped me crystalise my thoughts on social media and now I feel ready to develop the strategy and make use of this great new medium” Would you like me to run a workshop in-house for YOUR company? Contact me to discuss how we can bring your company into this new and exciting communication universe. Twitter LinkedIn FacebookDelicious FlickrLast.fmFriendFeed Assoc. of Virtual Worlds Plurk Plaxo Skype me View many of the presentations I have given over at Slideshare Why does employee communication matter? 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