Among the means of communication that are experiencing real success: video calls and videoconferencing. They have established themselves as essential tools. They help connect individuals, teams and organizations, facilitating real-time communication and providing an enriching visual experience. So, let’s dive into the world of visual communication and discover how it can transform your professional experience.
Growing use of video calls
The use of video calls has been constantly expanding since the health crisis because it became a necessity when teleworking became essential. Indeed, video calls allow face-to-face communication that goes beyond simple audio exchanges.
Companies are increasingly using this method to connect with colleagues, business partners and customers, whether for:
- Meetings and presentations
- Online training
- Job interviews
This growing use of video calls in business communication is a testament to their effectiveness in creating a more immersive and engaging communication experience. They allow for example to take stock with all the teams gathered on a project or on the progress of taskss.
Benefits of video calls
Video calls offer many advantages over audio-only communications.
The key figure: Nearly 80% of our exchanges take place through channels other than words. If words have an impact, our gestures and our attitude also reveal our emotions.
However, as participants see each other, video calls highlight non-verbal communication which allows us to interpret facial expressions, gestures and postures to better understand the feelings of our interlocutors.
This facilitates mutual understandingthe, improves connection and promotes more effective communication. Additionally, video calls allow you to share presentations, documents, and other visual assets in real time. This improves collaboration and understanding of the topics covered. Finally, video calls also help promote professional relationships by creating a feeling of closeness, even from a distance. Trust and commitment between participants are consolidated.
Online collaboration tools:
- Promote transparency, flexibility and productivity. Allow real-time communication.
- Provide quick and easy access to necessary resources. Stimulate creativity through sharing ideas.
- Encourage innovation by bringing together people with varied backgrounds and skills.
Challenges of online collaboration
Online collaboration has many benefits, but it is not without its challenges.
| Key Benefits | Challenges to overcome |
| Greater work flexibility | Need for a good internet connection |
| Ability to work in different zones | Complex time zone management |
| Reduction of travel and associated costs | Limiting physical interactions |
| Better organization and ease of access to resources | Risks sometimes linked to creativity and team cohesion |
It is therefore important for businesses to put in place suitable practices and policies to maximize the benefits of online collaboration while mitigating its challenges.
Training in oral expression and non-verbal communication
Many people found themselves confronted during confinement with the fact of expressing themselves in front of remote colleagues for daily exchanges. However, they were not used to expressing themselves in front of a public.
Consequently, managers must not underestimate the importance of employee training to facilitater their communication through video calls. Indeed, it is essential that they:
- Appropriate the principles of verbal and non-verbal communication.
- Become aware of the place of non-verbal communication.
- Know how to analyze their own behavior and be aware of the image they convey.
- Decode hidden intentions, identify unsaid things, hesitations, or the discomfort of their colleagues.
Popular collaboration tools for working remotely
Online collaboration tools have become essential for teams working remotely, as they help maintain smooth communication and effective coordination. In order to cover all of a team’s needs, these popular solutions are now divided into several major essential categories.
These tools offer advantages such as centralization of information, traceability of actions and discussions, as well as the ability to work asynchronously and flexibly. They help maintain productivity and cohesion within geographically dispersed teams, allowing everyone to stay informed and engaged in current projects.
1. Videoconferencing and direct communication
- Zoom: Having become the gold standard for large-scale video calls, it offers webinar features, breakout rooms for workshops, as well as excellent video stream stability.
- Microsoft Teams: Widely established in businesses, this tool combines group videoconferencing with team messaging and perfect integration into the Office ecosystem (Word, Excel).
- Google Meet: Integrated into the Google Workspace suite, it allows you to launch instant video meetings directly from your browser or calendar, without any software installation.
2. Team Messaging and Workflow
- Slack: It is a real-time communication platform that allows team members to send each other instant messages, share files and create discussion channels for different topics or projects. It also offers the possibility of integrating other tools and services, such as calendars or task management systems, to centralize information and facilitate collaboration.
3. Task management and visual planning
- Trello: It is a task management tool based on Kanban boards. It allows you to create task lists, organize them visually into columns and easily move them from one column to another to indicate their status (to do, in progress, finished, etc.). Team members can collaborate by adding comments, attachments, and deadlines to different tasks.
- Asana: This is another project management tool that offers similar functionality to Trello, but with additional options such as the ability to create dependencies between tasks, assign managers, and track overall project progress. It also allows you to visualize projects in the form of Gantt charts for better planning.
4. All-in-one project management platforms and knowledge bases
- Basecamp: It is an all-in-one project management platform that combines communication, task management, file sharing and calendar features. It offers dedicated project workspaces, where team members can collaborate, discuss, share updates, and track progress. Basecamp is popular for its simplicity and user-friendly interface.
- Concept: A unique multi-purpose workspace that serves as a corporate wiki (knowledge base), project manager and shared document storage. It allows teams to centralize all of their processes in one place.
