TAKE OFF THE MASK!

I mean it. Take it off. And let people meet the real you. And while you’re at it, get to know the real you yourself.

Of course, I don’t mean unmask yourself when you’re sitting next to old uncle Charlie, what with his CPD and all. I mean use this current isolation to do some thinking about yourself, and use the virtual world to get to know folks better (family, clients, virtual co-workers), by letting them know who you are and what this global trauma has taught you about life.

I learned about the paradox of virtual communications on zoom sessions with my mother and five siblings!

Of course, we’re all lamenting the fact that we miss family and friends. No bouncing the grandkids on our knee, no hugs for Nana Joan. I decided to try and bridge this gap, as I’m sure many of you have, by organizing weekly Zoom sessions. My gregarious, noisy, tactile, Irish Catholic clan were less than enthusiastic. But guess what? Now they’re converts! Why? Because when you have a limited time on a virtual meeting, you need to take turns, it helps to have an agenda, and I gave them all pre-work!

And… I had the mute button. Ha! So instead of the usual in-person get-togethers; often noisy free-for-alls (and great fun!), we got to hear everyone’s voices, not just the loudest or funniest (often me). When my extroverted actress sister would speak over my youngest, clever introvert sister. I’d mute the actress and we all learned something new about the introvert. And then when it was our turn, and in under 3 minutes (the allotted time to manage all six of us) we shared something important or new. And I learned that listening was just as interesting and being the center of attention.

We even managed to get my 88-year-old mother to participate. She got to hold the floor for a while, figured out the technology and managed to get her full, well-lit face in the frame and her microphone off mute. So rather than looking up her nostril, or at a silhouetted shape like a gangster in the witness protection program, we got to see and hear the family matriarch hold forth uninterrupted. And we learned something new from her too.

You can do this with your teams, your clients, your board, your softball team as well as your family. It is particularly helpful in business where even if clients aren’t buying much, they hear from you as a person, not from behind the mask of a salesperson.

So take off that mask. Sit down in front of your computer. And show your face, and your heart, to the important people in your life.