The Evolution of Virtual Sapiens

We now live in a quasi-virtual, hybrid, video-meeting-led world.

Albert Mehrabian, a researcher of body language, who first broke down the components of a face-to-face conversation. He found that communication is 55% nonverbal, 38% vocal, and 7% words only.

Therefore, what does this mean for us in nonverbal communication, in a video-led world, where we can only see one's head and shoulders in a small box on a screen?

In this episode, I am joined by Rachel Cossar, Co-Founder and CEO of Virtual Sapiens.

"Rachel Cossar is a leader in the field of nonverbal communication and leadership presence facilitation. As a former nationally ranked athlete and professional ballet dancer, Rachel has a knack of translating unique skills into relatable business skills and competencies.

Virtual Sapiens, Rachel's most recent venture, comes as an evolution of her combined work as founder of Choreography for Business, a nonverbal communication consulting firm as well as a faculty member with Mobius Executive Leadership and as a leadership presence facilitator with Ariel Group. Rachel has worked with leaders from GE, BCG, Pfizer, Accenture, McKinsey, HBS and more.

Rachel believes in the power of leveraging unique channels of communication in their own unique ways. Whether it is in person, on stage or on video, human connection is the key to organizational impact.

At Virtual Sapiens and in all endeavors, Rachel is known to lean in to the future, to uncertainty, and to strengthening human experiences in business and beyond.

Rachel's thought leadership has been featured on the TEDx Northeastern stage, Harvard Business Review, The Boston Globe, Psychology Today and more.

In this episode, Rachel breaks this down for us into what we need to consider when meeting people for the first time in a video-first environment, be it an initial meeting, demo, pitch and more. 

Rachel shares the types of nonverbal cues one would see and react to in an in-person meeting and how this becomes more complex in a video environment. 

This includes speaking to listen to ratio, lighting, background framing, camera angle, standing vs sitting, hand, head and shoulder movement, and eye contact. 

And what impact this has on the person you are talking to.

This all leads us to why Rachel founded Virtual Sapiens, "is a machine-learning SaaS platform to help client-facing professionals master communication skills over video. Like a virtual coach, Virtual Sapiens leverages expert knowledge in body language and presence, providing users with individualized and consistent coaching prompts as well as in-call feedback over time. Virtual Sapiens amplifies human connection, builds human skills and leverages cutting edge technology to do so at scale."

This episode will give you food for thought and where AI technology is heading in this space - do we even need to be present?

To learn more about Virtual Sapiens and take their free assessment, follow this link : https://www.virtualsapiens.co/

You can follow Rachel on LinkedIn here : https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-cossar/

 

Thank you to Rachel for her time and insight and to you, my listeners.