In an online meeting it is important to tune in to the other person. But how do
we know what makes the other person ticks?
How important is knowledge about my counterpart in online meetings?
A meeting is successful if you adapt well to your counterpart. This applies to face-to-face meetings as well as to online meetings. The more information I have about the person I’m talking to, the better.
» How can I recognize how my counterpart ticks”?
In communication with other people we use words, but also non-verbal signals. And these signals correspond very much with our personal biostructure (structogram). So it is very important for people with green-dominance to get in touch personally and to share “private” things. We learn details about family, holidays, weekend experiences, and they are happy when they can tell us about it and we listen. Attention: They are also very talkative and hard to stop. People with red dominance communicate mainly briefly and succinctly, long explanations are not their thing. They formulate very action-oriented and try to dominate their conversation partners “a little”. Attention: Often their impatience is noticeable and they love competition. Blue- dominated persons tend to talk little, speak in monotone and rather quietly, often it is very exhausting for interlocutors to listen to them. They mainly use logical explanations, analyses and refer to figures, data and facts. Attention: They refuse any pressure and “switch off”, you can no longer get through to them.
How can I respond to these different types of people in an online meeting?
If you pay attention to these signals, you quickly get an impression of the “other person” and can shape the conversation accordingly in a good and tension-free way. People with green dominance like to hear success stories, i.e. examples from practice that have proved successful. They orient themselves to “role models” and if they have TRAiNiNG 07 | 2022 good experiences, they “buy”. They also trust their » advisors, i.e. if they can be assured that their decision is the right one, they are strengthened. People with red dominance often need a personal advantage. If advisors present the benefit to them well and emphasise this advantage, they are immediately on board. Also, if I can offer them something to try out – which is often possible in an online meeting – I have their attention immediately. They don’t appreciate long explanations and theoretical models. People with blue dominance, on the other hand, appreciate theoretical models. They need competent discussion partners with whom they can exchange technical information. If I can offer them facts and figures that interest them, then I can convince them.
How should I act when I am in a virtual space with many different types of people?
Here, too, there are parallels to presence meetings. Unfortunately, we can’t always reach all the people. And it’s even more difficult online because participants often switch off the camera and I don’t know whether all my conversation partners are still there. But humans don’t just have dominance, we have a combination of possibilities. And me, as the leader of the conversation, can try to reach one main component and also address a second component.
Examples
Target group green/red – success story with competition: here I simply use fewer numbers/ data/facts.
Target group blue/red – competence with an edge: short and concise, without a story and personal experiences. Target group blue/green – competence with a personal reference example.