Digital Body Language: How to Build Trust and Connection, No Matter the Distance, reviewed

We look at this interesting and thought provoking book by Erica Dhawan. Available from Harper Collins here, and see her website here.

Digital Body Language: How to Build Trust and Connection, No Matter the Distance, reviewed

This is an enjoyable and thoughtful read, as well as a timely one, especially as we are all working online more and more. In some ways the first section about digital niceness (not her phrasing for it) did make me concerned that we were reading a 21st century version of Dale Carnegie’s How To Win Friends and Influence people. While some people are fans of this, our concern would be that it could ramp up levels of digital insincerity, the equivalent of ‘have a nice day’ when it is clear that the person saying it means anything but.

As the book progressed though we found it enjoyable and insightful. As a child of Indian parents, raised in the US, Dhawan has already spent a lot of time thinking about cultural norms, and rather the differences between what is normal in one culture and not so in another. From navigating a path between these different cultures has helped the author to understand how some things may fall between the cracks, and also the subtle nuances between Canadian, British and Aussie English, let alone how the Americans use it.

There are some good suggestions in this book and it is well written, readable and accessible. If you are working online (ie pretty much everyone in the world these days) then this is a smart and relevant book to read.

More about the book Digital Body Language

How to Build Trust and Connection, No Matter the Distance

The book we all read right now: the definitive guide to communicating and connecting wherever you are.

Email replies that show up a week later. Video chats full of ‘oops sorry no you go’ and ‘can you hear me?!’ Ambiguous text-messages. Weird punctuation you can’t make heads or tails of. Is it any wonder communication takes us so much time and effort to figure out? How did we lose our innate capacity to understand each other?

Humans rely on body language to connect and build trust, but with most of our communication happening from behind a screen, traditional body language signals are no longer visible – or are they? In Digital Body Language, Erica Dhawan, a go-to thought leader on collaboration and a passionate communication junkie, combines cutting edge research with engaging storytelling to decode the new signals and cues that have replaced traditional body language across genders, generations, and culture. In real life, we lean in, uncross our arms, smile, nod and make eye contact to show we listen and care. Online, reading carefully is the new listening. Writing clearly is the new empathy. And a phone or video call is worth a thousand emails.

Digital Body Language will turn your daily misunderstandings into a set of collectively understood laws that foster connection, no matter the distance. Dhawan investigates a wide array of exchanges—from large conferences and video meetings to daily emails, texts, IMs, and conference calls—and offers insights and solutions to build trust and clarity to anyone in our ever changing world.

“We need Erica Dhawan’s book more than ever.” ?Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook and founder of Lean In

“An indispensable guide to a business world turned upside down by video calls, group texts, and remote work.”  ?Daniel H. Pink, bestselling author of Drive 

“This book is a breakthrough that will be read for years to come” ?Seth Godin, author of The Practice

More about the author

Erica Dhawan is a globally recognized leadership expert and keynote speaker helping organizations and leaders innovate faster and further, together. Erica has spoken, worldwide, to organizations and enterprises that range from the World Economic Forum to U.S. and global Fortune 500 companies, associations, sports teams, and government institutions. Named as one of the top management professionals around the world by Global Gurus, she is the founder and CEO of Cotential – a company that has helped leaders and teams leverage twenty-first-century collaboration skills globally. Her writing has appeared in dozens of publications, including Fast Company and Harvard Business Review. She has an MPA from Harvard Kennedy School, MBA from MIT Sloan, and BS from The Wharton School.

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