remotework Archives - Linguix Blog https://linguix.com/blog/tag/remotework/ Writing about using technology to create content and build effective communications. Sat, 16 May 2020 16:17:30 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.5 Guide: Communicating at a Distance https://linguix.com/blog/guide-communicating-at-a-distance/ https://linguix.com/blog/guide-communicating-at-a-distance/#respond Wed, 08 Apr 2020 04:37:13 +0000 https://linguix.com/blog/?p=1454 It’s not always possible to meet in person, but that doesn’t mean we need to cease communicating. Obviously, nowadays there are more ways than ever to communicate from a distance, from instant messages to video calls. The number of different options can sometimes be a little overwhelming. But just because we have lots of remote […]

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It’s not always possible to meet in person, but that doesn’t mean we need to cease communicating.

Obviously, nowadays there are more ways than ever to communicate from a distance, from instant messages to video calls. The number of different options can sometimes be a little overwhelming.

But just because we have lots of remote communication options, that doesn’t immediately make us good remote communicators. Here are important rules to follow and tools to use to be ensure you become proficient at communicating from a distance.

Communicate accordingly to the medium

Video calls, voice calls, instant messaging, email, social media postings: there are so many means of communicating remotely that is it difficult to adapt the way you communicate each time, but that is exactly what you need to do.

Think about it. A video call gives us the opportunity to see the other person, but often we have to contend with slight delays in what we do and say. Voice calls, however, tend to be a little quicker in exchange, but then we do not have the benefit of being able to see each other. Body language – something that can be such an essential part of communicating – is suddenly redundant.

A simple question can prove how easy it is to miscommunicate through the incorrect use of a medium, and here it is: How many times have you offended, or been offended, by an instant message? And now compare that to the number of times you have been offended by an email. Emails very rarely put our noses out of joint the way an instant message can, simply because it is so brief.

You could make a similar comparison between a telephone call, where you can obviously only hear the other person, and a video call, where you obviously have a little bit more to play with in terms of being able to see the person and judge their body language.

The fact is, instant messages usually cause the most problems because of the extremely short, and often reactive, nature of the messages. Emojis can help hugely with the tone of the message, and this is an example of communicating well according to the medium. Would you stuff an email full of emojis? Probably not.

The key here is to adapt the way you communicate for each method of communication. That is what the best remote communicators do.

Write well

Writing is a skill, but often the key is to keep it simple. If you have difficulties producing written work that reflects what you want to say, consider using an online writing tool such as Linguix, which not only fixes structural and spelling mistakes but can help you with the tone and formality of your writing. Linguix even offers templates to help with all manner of different communication tasks, such as writing blog posts.

If you want to communicate well remotely, let the right tools guide you.

Respond swiftly and clearly

Another issue with their being so many means of communication these days is that it is hard to stay on top of all the ways that people can (and do) contact you. That means you may need to keep a tab on WhatsApp, Slack, Skype, Email and Facebook, for example, and that can be tricky.

As well as ensuring that you manage your incoming messages properly, you must also ensure that you have an effective means of replying in a timely manner. Because communication is so instant, people can be a little impatient when it comes to expecting a reply, so don’t let your tardiness in sending a response, damage important business relationships. Use an app manager to collate all of your incomings, and then have an efficient process for prioritizing and then responding. Using set templates can be helpful, so you don’t need to rewrite similar messages from scratch each and every time.

And keep your messages simple. Overcomplicating things very rarely does any good. Reply in a timely fashion, be simple and clear in your response, use the correct tools to help you (such as Linguix) and see how you can quickly become an efficient and productive remote communicator.

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Essential Tools for Remote Workers https://linguix.com/blog/essential-tools-for-remote-workers/ https://linguix.com/blog/essential-tools-for-remote-workers/#respond Mon, 30 Mar 2020 18:32:27 +0000 https://linguix.com/blog/?p=1423 These are strange and difficult times. The reality for many of us is now working from home when, perhaps, that is not our usual approach to work. That means a steep learning curve for employees and employers alike. But as more and more people have begun working remotely over the years, the market has sought […]

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These are strange and difficult times. The reality for many of us is now working from home when, perhaps, that is not our usual approach to work. That means a steep learning curve for employees and employers alike.

But as more and more people have begun working remotely over the years, the market has sought to provide the tools that facilitate more efficient and effective remote working practices. As a result, there are an abundance of tools on the market that can truly assist this approach to perform your job, whether you’re seasoned at it, or if you are embracing it for the first time.

Here are the tools you need to know:

Zoom, for your video conferencing needs

Even though you are working remotely, it’s still nice (and sometimes essential) to get a bit of face time with colleagues and/or clients. Zoom is a tool that facilitates both intimate and larger meetings and comes with a plethora of features including the ability to share screens, use shared whiteboards and perform remote screen control options. The quality of the connection is usually great, and Zoom enables you to create individual meeting URLs that you can schedule and share in synchronization with third-party options such as Google Calendar.

Slack, for messaging

Slack is a great tool for sharing communications and content within teams and specific groups within companies or between collaborative organizations. Tailor your groups as you require, and take advantage of Slack’s instant-messaging service, full of gifs and emojis akin to WhatsApp. This great collaboration hub can also be used to pin messages and track documents and tasks, so it’s an all-in-one place for in-company teams to work from, particularly when that team is dispersed remotely.

Formstack, for data management

For many of your data management needs, Formstack is a great option. With it you can collect the relevant information connected to an array of online forms, helping to measure analytics connected to recruitment practices, attendance, engagement, and payments, among many others.

Linguix, for producing accurate written content

Linguix’s tool is an AI-powered writing assistant that greatly helps in producing high quality written content. Along with the sophisticated grammar, style and vocabulary/spelling checker is Linguix’s array of useful templates, suited to both work and study. The dictionary tool allows you to easily find definitions and synonyms for any word you read online, ensuring a learning experience at the same time.

Linguix’s tool is available as an extension for Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox, and the Premium version offers an even more extensive array of checks. The Linguix web app provides audience-specific corrections and access to stats and readability scores to further improve your writing.

Hubspot, for marketing, sales and customer service needs

Okay, so Hubspot is not necessarily a remote working tool, because it is used by many companies as an automation system for all of their inbound marketing needs, from social media marketing to content creation and management, and from SEO considerations to web analytics. It can also be used as the place to store all company contacts, both internal and external, and so if you are now working as a remote tool, it truly adds value.

Dropbox, for filesharing

When working remotely, filesharing is one of the most fundamental considerations. Dropbox is perhaps the most well-known and among the simplest-to-use filesharing tools, especially if you don’t need the full G suite offering. Dropbox Office is a slightly more comprehensive option, but the free account is a good place to start.

Todoist, for self and team organization

Todoist is really a simple and smart to-do list tool (as the name would suggest), but when working remotely, it can easily operate as your project management system too. Timeframes, due dates, priority levels, and ownership can all be attributed using Todoist and shared between remote teams, so whether you are working individually, or collaboratively as part of a group, this is a great (and simple) PM tool to use. It dovetails nicely with your personal activities too.

For more on working from home, how to be productive and tool to use, check out this Remote Playbook.

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