WEBVTT - Use chat for good

0:00:03.440 --> 0:00:06.680
<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

0:00:09.200 --> 0:00:15.320
<v Speaker 1>Good Morning, This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

0:00:16.320 --> 0:00:20.040
<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to use the chat feature to improve

0:00:20.079 --> 0:00:24.159
<v Speaker 1>your video calls. When chat is used for good, it

0:00:24.200 --> 0:00:27.360
<v Speaker 1>can be a great way to deepen connections and keep

0:00:27.400 --> 0:00:32.159
<v Speaker 1>people thinking about the topic at hand, As we have

0:00:32.280 --> 0:00:35.000
<v Speaker 1>learned during the massive rise in remote work over the

0:00:35.040 --> 0:00:39.160
<v Speaker 1>past two and a half years. Most video conference applications

0:00:39.159 --> 0:00:41.760
<v Speaker 1>have a chat feature that allows you to type a

0:00:41.800 --> 0:00:46.800
<v Speaker 1>message to one or all of the participants. Sometimes people

0:00:46.920 --> 0:00:50.840
<v Speaker 1>use chat for snarky side conversations with one work friend.

0:00:51.760 --> 0:00:55.840
<v Speaker 1>I feel like this is an incredibly risky strategy. One

0:00:55.920 --> 0:01:00.640
<v Speaker 1>false move and the comment goes to everyone yikes. Instead,

0:01:00.840 --> 0:01:03.560
<v Speaker 1>use chat as a tool for making sure everybody is

0:01:03.640 --> 0:01:07.320
<v Speaker 1>with you on a video call, reinforce what's set out

0:01:07.319 --> 0:01:10.319
<v Speaker 1>loud with typed messages, and invite others to use chat

0:01:10.680 --> 0:01:14.639
<v Speaker 1>to share their insights and questions as well. One simple

0:01:14.680 --> 0:01:18.039
<v Speaker 1>technique that can be incredibly helpful is to type any

0:01:18.120 --> 0:01:21.320
<v Speaker 1>proper names or acronyms that you say into the chat.

0:01:22.280 --> 0:01:25.280
<v Speaker 1>People are often embarrassed to ask others to repeat or

0:01:25.319 --> 0:01:28.920
<v Speaker 1>spell a name, or to explain an acronym for fear

0:01:28.959 --> 0:01:32.039
<v Speaker 1>of seeming out of the loop, but no one benefits

0:01:32.040 --> 0:01:34.840
<v Speaker 1>when people don't know who or what you're referring to.

0:01:35.800 --> 0:01:39.040
<v Speaker 1>By typing names and acronyms plus what they stand for,

0:01:39.160 --> 0:01:44.400
<v Speaker 1>into the chat, you help keep everyone following along. I

0:01:44.480 --> 0:01:47.680
<v Speaker 1>also recommend pasting in the chat the question that's being

0:01:47.720 --> 0:01:51.960
<v Speaker 1>discussed or the agenda item that you're on. This keeps

0:01:52.000 --> 0:01:55.320
<v Speaker 1>everyone focused on the topic and avoids the awkward moment

0:01:55.360 --> 0:01:59.200
<v Speaker 1>when ten minutes into a discussion, someone asks the facilitator

0:01:59.240 --> 0:02:01.720
<v Speaker 1>to repeat the quest, gener worse, makes a comment that

0:02:01.760 --> 0:02:04.480
<v Speaker 1>reveals they are clearly not thinking about the same thing.

0:02:05.560 --> 0:02:07.920
<v Speaker 1>If you send people to breakout groups to discuss a

0:02:07.960 --> 0:02:12.720
<v Speaker 1>particular topic, also paste those discussion prompts into the chat.

0:02:13.880 --> 0:02:16.160
<v Speaker 1>If you use the chat in meetings that you lead,

0:02:16.760 --> 0:02:19.280
<v Speaker 1>you may find that participants start to use the chat

0:02:19.360 --> 0:02:22.519
<v Speaker 1>more as well. This can be great. The chat box

0:02:22.600 --> 0:02:25.240
<v Speaker 1>is an excellent way for people to pose questions and

0:02:25.280 --> 0:02:30.079
<v Speaker 1>share ideas without interrupting the flow of a presentation. Chat

0:02:30.120 --> 0:02:34.000
<v Speaker 1>is especially valuable for larger groups and for SHIRE team

0:02:34.040 --> 0:02:37.840
<v Speaker 1>members when it's hard to contribute orally. The chat can

0:02:37.919 --> 0:02:43.639
<v Speaker 1>offer a less intimidating forum. Of course, people can't really multitask,

0:02:44.080 --> 0:02:46.000
<v Speaker 1>and so you don't want the chat to be where

0:02:46.160 --> 0:02:49.840
<v Speaker 1>all the action is happening. It needs to be integrated

0:02:49.880 --> 0:02:53.600
<v Speaker 1>into the meeting to really work well, So, especially in

0:02:53.919 --> 0:02:56.880
<v Speaker 1>larger meetings that you are leading, you could ask a

0:02:56.919 --> 0:03:01.079
<v Speaker 1>trusted colleague to monitor the chat. The person can feel

0:03:01.120 --> 0:03:05.720
<v Speaker 1>empowered to interrupt you with appropriate questions or points that

0:03:05.760 --> 0:03:08.400
<v Speaker 1>have been made in the chat and need to be addressed.

0:03:09.400 --> 0:03:12.000
<v Speaker 1>That way, you don't have to follow the chat and

0:03:12.040 --> 0:03:15.160
<v Speaker 1>lose your focus, but people's ideas get hurt as well.

0:03:16.440 --> 0:03:18.640
<v Speaker 1>I'm also a fan of meetings that use the chat

0:03:18.720 --> 0:03:21.880
<v Speaker 1>in the awkward moments as people are logging on, when

0:03:21.880 --> 0:03:24.440
<v Speaker 1>the conversation out loud is mostly saying hi and where

0:03:24.480 --> 0:03:26.919
<v Speaker 1>are you logging in from? When a new person logs

0:03:26.919 --> 0:03:29.799
<v Speaker 1>in every few seconds, the chat can be a forum

0:03:30.120 --> 0:03:34.520
<v Speaker 1>for relationship building. If you post a light, engaging question

0:03:34.560 --> 0:03:36.920
<v Speaker 1>in the chat and reposted every few minutes as new

0:03:36.960 --> 0:03:40.320
<v Speaker 1>people arrive, you can spark interactions over a chat that

0:03:40.360 --> 0:03:45.400
<v Speaker 1>connect people before the meeting begins. Questions like favorite summer

0:03:45.440 --> 0:03:48.680
<v Speaker 1>memory for a meeting right after Labor Day or favorite

0:03:48.720 --> 0:03:51.520
<v Speaker 1>Thanksgiving food right before the holiday, or who are your

0:03:51.560 --> 0:03:54.840
<v Speaker 1>oscars picks? The night of the awards show can create

0:03:54.920 --> 0:03:58.720
<v Speaker 1>low pressure opportunities for participants to get to know each other.

0:04:00.040 --> 0:04:02.080
<v Speaker 1>Two and a half years into hybrid work, we are

0:04:02.120 --> 0:04:05.119
<v Speaker 1>still figuring out how to do it well. I think

0:04:05.160 --> 0:04:08.240
<v Speaker 1>the chat function is an under used feature of a

0:04:08.280 --> 0:04:11.000
<v Speaker 1>lot of meetings, so why not try to use it

0:04:11.040 --> 0:04:14.360
<v Speaker 1>for good. If you have additional ways that you like

0:04:14.480 --> 0:04:17.400
<v Speaker 1>to use chat, I'd love to hear them. You can

0:04:17.440 --> 0:04:22.880
<v Speaker 1>reach me at Laura at Laura Vanderkamp dot com. In

0:04:22.920 --> 0:04:27.800
<v Speaker 1>the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's

0:04:27.839 --> 0:04:37.400
<v Speaker 1>to making the most of our time. Hey everybody, I'd

0:04:37.440 --> 0:04:39.840
<v Speaker 1>love to hear from you. You can send me your tips,

0:04:39.920 --> 0:04:44.520
<v Speaker 1>your questions, or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook,

0:04:44.640 --> 0:04:49.440
<v Speaker 1>and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod that's b E the

0:04:49.520 --> 0:04:53.760
<v Speaker 1>number four, then Breakfast p o D. You can also

0:04:53.760 --> 0:04:57.520
<v Speaker 1>shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at iHeart

0:04:57.560 --> 0:05:00.520
<v Speaker 1>media dot com that Before Breakfast espe out with all

0:05:00.560 --> 0:05:03.400
<v Speaker 1>the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward to staying

0:05:03.400 --> 0:05:12.039
<v Speaker 1>in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio.

0:05:12.640 --> 0:05:15.560
<v Speaker 1>For more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the i

0:05:15.640 --> 0:05:19.080
<v Speaker 1>heart Radio apps, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to

0:05:19.160 --> 0:05:20.960
<v Speaker 1>your favorite shows. Yea