Virtual Communication Intelligence: Human communication challenges and best practices in the post-pandemic era

Numerous yet deceptively subtle differences between virtual and face-to-face communication profoundly influence organizational performance, team interaction, and psychological well-being. This chapter identifies the “Big 10” factors that affect human communication in virtual mediums: (1) mutual gaze, (2) directional gaze, (3) objective self-awareness, (4) seating configurations, (5) back-channel utterances, (6) side conversations, (7) touching, (8) gesturing, (9) collisions (unplanned face to face encounters between colleagues), and (10) shared context. This chapter then examines research on each of these key factors, discusses how each affects virtual communication, and suggests best practices for overcoming and navigating these challenges.