Building Connections and Communities Online | James Kerr and Nadia Bilchik | 414

Leveraging Thought Leadership

How many new skills did you learn during the pandemic? The lack of face-to-face meetings required everyone to adapt, and for many, that included the ability to build connections and community online. To discuss the skills and adaptations we all needed to update our lives to fit the new modality, I’ve invited two good friends to join me in a chat. Nadia Bilchik is the President of Greater Impact Communications. She's a speaker, trainer, and author of Own Your Network: Expert Networking In Person & Online. James Kerr is the founder of Indispensable Consulting. He's also a speaker, as well as a leadership coach and the author of Indispensable: Build and Lead A Company Customers Can’t Live Without. First, we look at the way presentations and communication skills training have changed in the wake of the first Covid outbreak. Nadia explains ways that our language has become more intentional due to the lack of ability to read body language in the virtual world. She gives advice on connecting with your audience on camera, and describes changes that will make you stand out and make your message clear. James discusses time constraints, and how we (and our audience) have begun to think about and value time differently. We no longer spend days traveling in order to accomplish a two-hour task. The ability to give a presentation in various time zones within a single day is a dramatic shift in itself, but it has also changed our understanding of real human interaction. We examine how to use online chit-chat and build toward deep "getting to know you moments" that build strong and memorable relationships. We wrap up our conversation by looking at the concept of "Zoom Fatigue." Nadia shares tips for placement of your camera, while James discusses how to interact with clients who prefer to leave their cameras off. The world has changed irrevocably, and the best thought leaders know how to keep up, adapt, and even excel in our new, digital-focused age. Three Key Takeaways: * When delivering thought leadership online ensure your camera is parallel to your eyes and you look directly into it while speaking. This gives the same effect as looking into someone’s eyes while speaking in person. * While we have had to reengineer the way we do things - the what is still the same. * It is important to get to know your clients on a deep personal level when you are only able to connect with them online. Ask personal questions about family and hobbies to help develop that relationship.