(Reviewed by JD Jung)
Have you ever read an email or text that you felt was curt or angry, only to discover that was not the intention of the sender? Worse, have you been the one who was accused of such?
These communication problems are all solvable and Erica Dhawan shows us how in her new guide, Digital Body Language: How to Build Trust and Connection, No Matter the Distance. Here she provides strategies to help executives, co-workers and friends understand each other, eliminating confusion, misunderstanding and frustration in emails, texts, video conferences, instant messaging, and even face-to-face meetings.
Her interest and proficiency in this evolved from trying to understand her Hindi-speaking family members by deciphering their body language. Feeling somewhat left out at school, she used this skill to figure out her classmates, observing even the most subtle cues. This interest continued through college and she eventually became a communication and leadership consultant, giving keynote speeches globally. One common issue that clients were relating to her was “miscommunicate in the workplace”. Hence, she adapted her ability to translate actual body language to that of the digital world.
She shows how to build trust, deal with ambiguity, communicate according to the power structure at work and how to detect power plays. She explains what you need in order adapt to different communication styles, and how this varies among generations, cultures and even gender.
In these remote working times during COVID, how to you build social relationships at work? Dhawan comes to the rescue with “watercooler interactions”.
There’s a lot of vital information here and the book’s varied structure facilitates the learning process so it’s not so overwhelming. Dhawan solves real-life problems but also summarizes specifics with bullet points and tables. That said, make sure you read the Appendix, as she provides more succinct tips.
So, if you want to effectively write messages that people will read, communicate in appropriate tone and so much more, then Digital Body Language: How to Build Trust and Connection, No Matter the Distance, is for you.
