Well, well, well, hello. We are back, and this is lesson two. In this lesson, we're going to address the two major misconceptions between virtual and in-person communication. Now, I'm not going to tell you one is better than the other. If you're like me, you're probably thinking, well, there's pros and cons to both. So, let's address the two major misconceptions. So, if you were going to ask people, is it easier to communicate in-person or is it easier to communicate virtually through email, through chat, through video conference? What do you think they would say? They would say, it's always easier to communicate in person. They give you some reasons like this. Number one, most communication is nonverbal, and you need to see the person to pick up on their body language, their tone. In person, you can feed off ideas, like if one person gets an idea, you can, yes, and you can communicate that way. This feeding off each other is a thing that promotes creativity, it's a thing that promotes people interacting with one another and it creates relationships. Now, let's look at the cons for in-person communication. Yes, most communication is nonverbal. But have you ever mistaken someone's body language? What happens if you don't connect personality-wise when you meet someone? Are you more likely to resist their ideas? Are you more likely to be hesitant to accept their ideas? That's something that is much rare in virtual communication. Yes, you can feed off each other's ideas for sure, but then you fall into the trap of group think. In an email exchange, it is much easier to voice your concerns or voice your questions than in a 10-person meeting, where you're the only person that isn't loving that idea. How often have you been in a meeting, and you can tell no one wants to do something, but we still do it. Because the boss is so passionate about that idea. Lastly, it's group think. Because of that energy exchange, it is much easier in in-person communication to fall into group think. Whereas, if you were speaking virtually, let's say we're using email, let's say we're using some sort of text communication, let's say it's communication before our virtual conference, you have much more time to do back and forth with the other group members to express ideas, voice concerns, and to ask questions. So, which is better? I don't know. The truth is, both have pros and cons. Just like we've reviewed. But is there a way we can apply this knowledge? The answer is yes, by using a bow tie. What's the bow tie? We'll get to that after we talk about the second myth. The second myth is that, it's easier to feel like you're part of a team, part of an organization, part of a tribe in-person than virtually. Of course that makes sense again, we are social creatures. We want to talk to one another, we want to see each other body language, we want to see if our personalities connect. What's the con to that? It's work, what if our personalities don't connect? What if you walk into an organization where everyone knows each other well except you, first day on the job syndrome. How much stronger is that feeling of not feeling part of the tribe in-person than if you're on a virtual team? Let me give you an example. Many, many years ago, I worked as a waiter in this big hotel. The hotel had been around since the early 80s. I started working there in the late 90s. About 85 percent of the people I worked with had been there since day one of the hotel. It took me months and months to get acceptance from everyone. Now, imagine that same situation where an email gets sent, "Let's welcome Evon everybody to the team", and every single person takes a moment to just say, "Hey welcome to the team Evon." That's it's an entirely different tone. Here's another thing about tribes. Is everyone always at the tribe, at the same time or some people out, hunter-gathering? Have you ever been in a workplace where you only see two people for the first three or four days you start connecting with them, than four or five more people show up, and all of sudden you're back to square zero? Virtually, no one's out hunter-gathering, because everyone always has their phone or their laptop with them. So virtually, you can instantly start communicating with all the members of the tribe. Just think of World of Warcraft or Reddit. These communities that are huge, international, across the world bridge languages, and none of them have ever met. That being said, if I truly want to trust, I have to see someone. I do. Personally. How do you really know someone without even knowing what they look like, without being able to read their expressions? So, how can we get the best of both worlds with the bow tie? So, what is a bowtie beyond just something you wear? Think about this, big triangle, little knot, big triangle. When we have the bow tie, big triangle over here is all our pre communication before we meet. This little tiny part of time, that's our actual in-person meeting time, this is all the communication afterward. Let's be real. How often have you ended or tried to cut the conversation short by saying, "Could you just maybe send me an email we'll talk back and forth like that?" Let's be real. How often have you been like, "I do not want to have this conversation. I'm thinking I'm just going to try and send an email first? " Virtual communication is a beautiful edition, and the way the trend is going, if we make the majority of our communication virtual, each side of the bow tie, we're going to be good communicators. But if we want to be exceptional in a virtual age, add that little in-person, add one coffee. Imagine how strong my relationship would be with all my friends on World of Warcraft if we connected for years, we worked together for years, we understand each other, and then we met for a coffee once. How much stronger would that relationship be? It's easier to communicate, and it's easier to be part of a group, while there is truth there, it's not that simple. Moving forward as we progress in a virtual age, the real correct answer is, lots of virtual, a little in-person makes an incredible relationship.