Written by Michael Sigman, Senior Communications Consultant
You are shopping in a supermarket with a mask on your face. Everyone else is also masked. They are distant, but not just because they are trying to stay six feet away. It is because you can’t see their faces. It is also during that supermarket trip that you realize how much you communicate with your face.
Photo by Ivan Samkov from Pexels
We usually smile or nod when we pass people. We show concern, empathy, surprise, happiness, enjoyment. You may be smiling at people as you pass them, but they don’t see. No response. Our emotions are masked. It doesn’t have to be that way.
Remain aware of your non-verbal communications – the way you listen, look, move, and react—tell the person you’re communicating with whether or not you care, if you’re in agreement and how well you’re listening. Eye contact, gestures and body movement and posture carry even more information and influence on your communications when masked.
As long as physical distancing is a reality, it is important that we not project a social or emotional distancing. One thing you can do is turn any virtual meeting into a video meeting for all. Use the camera even when it’s not mandatory. Seeing people and having them see you are important parts of remaining social. Then participate as if you were in the same room.
When attending necessary in-person meetings (while masked) it is vital to be as visual as possible. Perhaps you can add a few more gestures to complement your key points. Maybe use a tilt of the head, lean forward on a critical word (while keeping proper distance), or support your words by smiling behind your mask. This will offer a real test of the phrase: “smiling with your eyes. “
While the method and distance of communication may change in the new normal, you don’t have to let the mask hide your personality.
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