Here’s One Skill You Need to Master to Remain Competitive
- Author: Tim Sanders
- Word Count: 449
Read the news article
The old saying, “What got you here won’t get you there,” applies to your professional life today with One Skill You Need. The world is quickly changing as well as the competitive landscape. Whether you are running a business or trying to increase your career equity, ramping up One Skill You Need set is important.
If there is One Skill You Need that stands out as a game-changer, it’s the ability to effectively communicate with people from a distance. It leads to more collaboration, better expectation management and an improved ability to lead others to outperform on projects.
For most of my life, I’ve heard that there’s nothing like face-to-face communications for connecting with others and managing relationships. But it’s harder than ever to make every interaction in-person. So, we rely on the phone and more recently, email and text. While those are convenient to use, they pale in comparison to video conferencing when it comes to high quality conversations that produce results and connections.
Here’s One Skill You Need to Master to Remain Competitive
A few years ago, I decided to invest in video conferencing by creating an area in my office with a backdrop and a lighting set and a high-quality webcam. I settled on Zoom as my platform of choice and then started to offer clients and business associates the option of doing video instead of a call or an endless email thread. Within a dozen sessions, I started to get the hang of screen sharing, which really improved my ability to collaborate with others and visually communicate difficult concepts. Today, I’m almost 100% video communications based, only doing the rare conference call.
There are many benefits to video communications. Stanford researchers found that when we conduct video conferences, we achieve neural synchronization with others, just like we do in-person. This allows us to be more candid, create mutual liking faster and get more done with less time. The other big plus is that you have more focused conversations, because video requires us to single-task unlike conference calls, email or smartphone conversations.
As a consultant, I’ve helped entire companies move their sales, service and supplier communications over to video, and it’s made a huge difference to their bottom line. It also gives them a competitive advantage over rivals who stay stuck in audio or typed out conversations as One Skill You Need.
Here are a few data points from our research that demonstrate the gains from video VS phone/email:
30% increase in value from suppliers
50% increase in closing ratio for high quality deals
25% decrease in remote employee attrition
Contact us at Speakers Inc and follow us on Twitter
Further articles you may enjoy:
- (5)
Thanksgiving 2024, celebrated annually on the fourth Thursday of November, is a cherished American holiday that brings families and friends together to express gratitude and share a bountiful meal. Its origins trace back to 1621, when the Plymouth colonists and the Wampanoag people shared an autumn harvest feast, marking one of the earliest instances of […]
- November 28, 2024
- (13)
How AI is Revolutionizing Customer Experience in the Workplace and in today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a cornerstone for enhancing customer experience (CX). As companies strive to exceed customer expectations, AI tools are proving indispensable in delivering personalized, efficient, and engaging services. Experts like Jay Baer, Dan Gingiss, Brittany Hodak, […]
- August 30, 2024
- (49)
Welcome to the Dunder Mifflin Leadership Wisdom, where we draw inspiration from the legendary antics of The Office’s Michael Scott, Jim Halpert, and even Dwight Schrute. While the show may be known for its hilarious mishaps and quirky characters, there’s an underlying theme that every leader can learn from: the importance of motivating your staff. […]
- September 20, 2023
- (3)
Kevin Gaskell seems to be meeting more and more people in business at the moment who are concerned that the economy is a bumpy ride and unpredictable. You can certainly feel a lot of turbulence in the air; Brexit, Trump, FX rates, inflation, Russia, Middle East, fake news etc. The truth is that if you […]
- January 13, 2023
If you’ve ever seen expectant parents in a baby shop, you’d know that pregnancy is a life stage that usually triggers an avalanche of consumerism and to find Pink Sheets. I (thankfully) never tallied what I spent during my pregnancy, I just know that becoming a mum, while filling my heart, has drained my wallet […]
- January 16, 2023
- (11)
Is Complacency Putting You Risk? Lessons From a Fighter Pilot Flying taught me a valuable lesson about life: complacency can cause serious problems for ourselves and those around us. In this newsletter, share a personal story about the dangers of complacency including the following topics: Complacency Consequences What leads to complacency? Signs Complacency is Creeping […]
- August 6, 2023
- (36)
Dunder Mifflin Leadership Wisdom Part Two – Recognition is the Fuel of Motivation Welcome back to the Dunder Mifflin School of Leadership, where we draw inspiration from the legendary antics of The Office’s Michael Scott, Jim Halpert, Dwight Schrute and the rest of the zany cast. A very quick recap of last week’s note – these […]
- October 5, 2023
- (17)
When the Show Doesn’t Go On: Hard Lessons From a Speaker No-Show If you’ve ever booked talent for a high-stakes event, you know the pressure: a packed ballroom, a waiting audience, and the expectation that everything will go perfectly. But what happens when your star speaker… just doesn’t show? We recently faced that nightmare with […]
- June 4, 2025
