Ikon Training
Navigating conflict in a digital age
October 17th, 2024
6 mins
The evolution of communication: Navigating conflict in a digital age
In today’s ever-changing world, the way we communicate continues to fundamentally shift. The once-standard face-to-face conversation is now just one of many options, alongside video calls, telephone conversations, emails, and text messages. While these methods offer convenience and flexibility, they also present unique challenges, especially when handling difficult, awkward, or challenging situations.
At IKON Training, we specialise in delivering conflict resolution and managing challenging behaviour training for a variety of industries, where their teams utilise all these channels on a day-to-day basis. As communication methods continue to evolve, so too must our approaches to resolving conflict across these different mediums.
The importance of human senses in communication
When managing conflict, the ability to read human signals—such as body language, tone of voice, and facial expressions—is crucial. These signals provide valuable insights into the emotions and intentions of the people we interact with. However, as communication moves further away from face-to-face interaction, we lose some of these essential cues, which can make resolving conflict much more complex.
Face-to-face conversations: The full picture
With face-to-face interactions, you have access to the full spectrum of human communication. Body language, eye contact, facial expressions, and even subtle shifts in energy all play a role in how we interpret and respond to others.
This rich exchange of signals helps you quickly identify whether someone is frustrated, calm, defensive, or open to discussion. As a result, managing challenging conversations is often more straightforward in person, as you can adjust your approach and communication style in real-time based on the wide range of non-verbal cues you receive.
Trainer tip –
Pay close attention to non-verbal cues such as body language, eye contact, and posture. These signals can reveal emotions or tension that may not be spoken aloud. Use empathy and active listening to respond to what you observe, adjusting your tone or approach to defuse potential conflict.
Video calls: A partial view
Moving to video calls, some of these human signals remain, but others start to fade. While you can still see facial expressions and body language, the screen acts as a barrier, limiting your perception of the person’s full posture or energy. Distractions (both yours and theirs) become more evident as people might glance at other screens or fidget while multitasking.
In these situations, picking up on frustration or disengagement requires closer attention to subtle visual and vocal cues, such as pauses in speech, changes in tone, or lack of eye contact.
Trainer tip –
Moving to video calls, some of these human signals remain, but others start to fade. While you can still see facial expressions and body language, the screen acts as a barrier, limiting your perception of the person’s full posture or energy. Distractions (both yours and theirs) become more evident as people might glance at other screens or fidget while multitasking.
In these situations, picking up on frustration or disengagement requires closer attention to subtle visual and vocal cues, such as pauses in speech, changes in tone, or lack of eye contact.
Telephone conversations: The power of voice
With telephone calls, we lose visual information entirely, and our ability to manage difficult conversations becomes reliant on voice alone. Tone, pitch, speed, and volume become the key indicators of emotion and intent. This can make conflict resolution more challenging, as misunderstandings are more likely to occur when you cannot see the person’s facial expressions or body language.
However, by focusing on voice and tone, skilled communicators can still manage these interactions effectively, especially when they remain calm and composed, even when confronted with frustration or anger.
Trainer tip –
Focus on tone of voice, pauses, and pace. Use clarifying questions to ensure you understand the other person’s concerns and keep your tone calm and steady to de-escalate any rising tensions.
Emails and texts: The written word’s limitations
The increasing reliance on email, text messages, and other written forms of communication brings another set of challenges. With no access to vocal tone or body language, interpreting emotion and intent becomes more subjective. While a message may seem neutral to the sender, it can be perceived as harsh or dismissive by the recipient. This disconnect is often due to the lack of social context and the limitations of written language.
Misunderstandings can quickly escalate into conflicts when the tone of writing is misinterpreted. Managing conflict in these written channels requires careful consideration of wording, empathy, and the ability to recognise when an issue is better addressed through a different medium, such as a phone or video call.
Trainer tip –
Be clear, concise, and careful with your wording. Avoid using language that could be misinterpreted, and when discussing sensitive topics, consider whether a phone or video call might be more appropriate. If conflict arises through these channels, address it calmly, and don’t hesitate to suggest an alternative method of communication to resolve the issue more effectively.
Adapting to change with IKON Training
At IKON Training, we’re continuously innovating and adapting our conflict resolution training to meet the evolving needs of today’s digital world.
As communication shifts from face-to-face interactions to video calls, phone conversations, and written messages like emails and texts, managing conflict has become more complex. Each medium presents unique challenges, from the absence of non-verbal cues to the difficulty of interpreting tone, and we’re committed to equipping people with the tools they need to navigate these situations confidently.
Our approach recognises that resolving conflict in a modern workplace requires more than traditional skills. It demands an understanding of how to adapt communication strategies across different platforms, each with their own limitations and nuances.
To address these nuances, IKON Training has refined our conflict resolution programmes, ensuring that we prepare teams to manage difficult conversations no matter the communication channel. Our courses now focus on recognising the specific signals available in each medium, whether it’s reading body language in video calls or spotting frustration in someone’s voice during a telephone conversation. We also offer guidance on handling conflict in written formats, such as email and SMS, where tone can easily be misconstrued.
Through this holistic, multi-channel approach, we empower people to feel more confident in handling challenging behaviours and conflicts across various platforms. By teaching adaptable communication strategies, active listening techniques, and de-escalation tactics tailored to each communication method, we ensure that your business and colleagues can respond effectively, regardless of how they’re interacting.
Our Resolving Telephone Conflict course is just one example of how we’re leading the way in this new era. It has been reimagined to reflect the complexities of today’s communication landscape, offering tools and techniques to resolve issues even when non-verbal cues are absent. And as communication channels continue to evolve, so too will our training.
At IKON Training, we’re not just keeping up with the times, we’re setting the pace, ensuring that professionals across all industries are prepared to manage conflict and challenging behaviours in a digital, connected and multi-channel world.
Get in touch to learn more
Ready to enhance your team’s communication skills? Explore our Resolving Telephone Conflict course and discover how IKON Training can help your organisation manage conflict in an increasingly digital world.
Contact Us:
– Visit IKON Training website.
– Call us at 01473 927333.
– Email us at [email protected]
